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WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 


OK, 


RECONSTRUCTION  AND  ITS  RESULTS. 


BY 

HILARY  A.  HERBERT,  M.  C,  Alabama;  ZEBULON  B.  VANCE,  U.  S. 

Senator,  North  Carolina;  JOHN  J.  HEMPHILL,  M.C.,  South  Carolina; 

HENRY  G.  TURNER,  M.  C,  Georgia;   SAMUEL  PASCO,  U.  S. 

Senator,  Florida;     IRA    P.    JONES,   Tennessee;     ROBERT 

STILES,  Esq.,  Virginia;  O.  S.  LONG  and  WILLIAM  L. 

WILSON,  M.  C,  West  Virginia;   GEORGE  G.  VEST, 

U.  S.  Senator,  Mo.;  WILLIAM  M.  FISHBACK, 

Arkansas;    ETHELBERT  BARKSDALE, 

Ex-M.  C,  Miss. ;  CHARLES  STEWART, 

M.  C,  Texas;  B.  J.  SAGE,  Louisiana. 


BALTIMORE: 

R.  H.  WOODWARD  &  COMPANY. 

1890. 


Obf^Hsht,  1890, 
9y  BILABT  A.  HEKBEBT. 


B: 

TLo  While  lluOfie 


^e:^ication< 


TO    THE 


BUSINESS    MEN    OF    THE    NORTH 


THIS    BOOK 


IS    RESPECTFUIvEY    DEDICATED. 


Hilary  A.  Herbert. 


April  I,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTBR  I. 

RECONSTRUCTION  AT  WASHINGTON. 

Lincoln's  death  calamity  to  the  South,  1  ;  Lincoln's  theory  of  Reconstruction,  1,  2  ;  Ste- 
vens' theory — Sumner's,  2  ;  Lincoln's  plan  in  message  of  18G3,  2,  3  ;  Act  of  Congress,  July, 
1864— Lincoln's  pocket  veto— Winter-Davis  protest,  4-6  ;  Congress  adjourned  leaving  Lincoln 
to  carry  out  his  own  policy — Lincoln  has  prepared  the  proclamation — Johnson  subsequently 
adopts,  5,  6  ;  Blaine's  opinion— comments,  6,  7  ;  Andrew  Johnson  retains  Lincoln's  cabinet — 
issues  Lincoln's  North  Carolina  proclamation,  8,  9  ;  Civil  governments  rapidly  restored,  9-11 ; 
Congress  convenes,  11  ;  Sherman  shows  Johnson  is  following  Lincoln  plan,  12  ;  Stevens  deter- 
mined to  "secure  perpetual  ascendency  to  party  of  the  Union"— Joint  committee  on  recon- 
struction, 13,  14  ;  Veto  of  civil  rights  bill— split  in  cabinet,  14, 15 ;  Rejection  of  14th  Amend- 
ment—causes, 15,  16  ;  The  Freedmen's  Bureau— its  evil  influences— Grant's  report,  16-18  ; 
The  Committee  of  Fifteen — its  methods,  18-20  ;  Eepublicans  victorious  in  Congressional  elec- 
tions, 21  ;  Impeachment,  21,  22 ;  Negro  Suffrage  for  the  District  of  Columbia,  22,  23  ;  Taken 
away  by  Republicans  themselves  in  1874,  24  ;  Congre'^s  decided,  in  1867,  war  was  not  over 
and  passed  reconstruction  laws  supplanting  civil  authorities  by  military  power,  24-26  :  McAr- 
dle  case,  26 ;  Lincoln  to  Shepley,  27  ;  Senator  Wilson's  prophecy  that  these  acts  would  Repub- 
licauize  the  South — its  fulfillment,  27,  28. 


CHAPTER  II. 

RECONSTRUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

Wretched  condition  of  people  in  1865,  29  ;  Old  political  feuds  still  divided  them,  25-30  ; 
Senator  Fessenden  on  Freedmen's  Bureau,  30;  Bureau's  influence  over  colored  man,  30-31 ; 
Vagrancy  laws— Blaine's  comments  in  "  Twenty  Years  in  Congress  "  and  New  England  Stat- 
utes cited  in  reply,  31-36  ;  Reflections  on  self-government,  36,  37;  Representatives  refused 
admission  to  Congress— exultation  of  blacks,  dejection  of  whites — Friction  between  races — 

V 


^.j  OON'TKNTS. 

:  :  ..trict,  hc«dqu»rU'i«  ot  Atlauta;  Gen.  Swayne  of  Alabama, 
,  j«,  3© :  G»n.  CUnton  organixes  oppoaition  or  Conservative 
^gjlj     Itfin^iin  brfvMO  U#n-  CUnton  and  Senator  Wilson— Riot  in  Mobile— Gen.  Pope 
lla«V<o  H^jot  al  MuUI»— Hortoua  amusing  decision  in  case  of  Charles  Archie 
II  ;  lien.  8»ayD«  a  prw«;,ectiTe  candidate  for  the  United  States  Senate— Union 
U^w^  «sclwlliM(  many  naUva  wbiica,  adniittinj;  blacks— iU  Montgomery  Council  declares 
ln^  xrmol  RefMilllcan  party,  thus  forming  black  man's  party,  41,42;  Attractive 

„. ,  .«  (k^OMO— tb«  latlj,  the  foniis  and  ceremonies,  42,43  ;  Gen.  Pope's  prophecy, 

»  MfTaUf*  CuoraoHoo-iUamall  numbers— Colored  men  phinning  to  forcibly  prevent 

.,       ,.  .    ■    f  Rrpublicao  culorwd  " Special  Committee  on  the  Situation,"  44  ;  Cousii- 

1^,,  ,_,.  :,,  Sof.  5,  1»<;T— all  iu  memU-rs  friunds  of  reconstruction— its  discussions 

— ihlrUva  ■wialwra.  al  Ita  date,  prolcal  against  proi>o6ed  constitution— whites  despondent- 
ly^. 1,,^  <  ;  r-licvcd — Gon.  Bleado  in  command,  45  ;  Ek-ctiou  for  rati- 
%c»Uon  ■-»t«  oniciahf  to  be  elected  at  the  same  time— Republican 
a-titMlf^**.  4A,  17 ;  SumiMT  "  would  nut  see  new  states  born  of  tlio  bayonet " — Gen. 
M^mU  4srlan«  o  I'-d  by  8,114  rotes  according  to  law  of  its  submission, 
a»l  Ikto  iWfmltil  -^  '  for  state  olTlccrB— Remarkable  report  of  reconstruction 
twllln  that  Mhar-qitrot  citangr  uf  law  could  affect  election  already  held — Congress  adopts 
o                                  '•  rrjuft  rvjt'cte'l  and  defeated  nominees  installed,  47-50  ;     State   credit 

ki.   .  _  j^»ut  railruad   legislation,  oTt-r  issues  of  bonds— frauds — increase  of  debt, 

ftl-^3,  lUilanUe  uflk^-boklenii,  &3,  M;  election  uf  1870 — Republican  quarrels — Lindsay, 
fHiiiii  f ■!.  eUclfU  UuTpmor — Smith  mils  on  troops  to  rot^dn  him  in  office,  then  abandons 
MHrtart — iJadaky's  administration  unsuccessful,  65-.')7  ;  Lewis,  Republican,  elected  Governor, 
IVTS-IhMl  t^acblalura— U.  S.  Iruupa  again  called  on,  57-69;  The  judiciary,  amusing  charge 
legfaailjary.  S^t-€\ ;  Oinpaign  of  1K74 — State  debt,  the  militar3',  hand-cuflTs,  overflow  bacon 
— DMBumU  r««W*ai  the  state,  CI-^  ;  A  new  constitution,  reduction  of  salaries  and  expenses 
f,  4«U,  Kbuula,  flgtxnM,  reflections,  Gl-C\>. 


CHAPTKR  III. 

RRCONSTRUCTION   IN   NORTH   C.VROLINA. 

"^''      '  "     '  ^Wr  WM  f.if  re»i..mt|un  ..f  the  Union,  70,  71  ;   Theory  was  secession 

•^       '    *  f  thr  Union— Thl«  rrciigniwHl  by  all  branches  of  the  Government 

•  «4  Kmj  WarvU-k— caaD  of  James  Kagan— Rcrcrdy  Johnson- minority  report,  71-74  ; 
'  ■*  and  North  Carnlino  put  under  military  rule, 

■  i^t*,  75.  7C;  Klectl<in  of  delegates  to  Conven- 
•MkoAs  aa4  r«Mili»-lbe  nmX  qanrtloo  un  the  vol©  for  constitution,  77,  78  ;  New  gov- 
!••  laMK«'«*«4-«Mtpl*kioD  of  legislature— raid  on  treasury  begun— echool  fund- 


CONTENTS.  vii 

W.  &  W.  and  W.  &  M  Railroads  robbed— Littlefield  and  Swepson  ring— anecdote  of  Cuffy 
79,  80 ;  Railroad  bonds  authorized  and  issued— rates  of  taxation— County  bonds,  80  81  • 
Courts  of  Justice,  81,  82 ;  $14,000,000  bonds  issued— not  a  mile  of  railroad  built,  82  ;  The 
Schoffner  Act— martial  law — two  regiments,  one  white,  one  negro— court-martial — habeas 
corpus— C.J.  Pearson  and  Governor  Holden— state  ablaze  with  excitement — anew  election 
approaches—  state  redeemed,  82-84. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

RECONSTRUCTION   IN  SOUTH   CAROI^INA. 

Complexion  of  state  Convention  January,  1868,  85  ;  Scott  elected  Governor— Complexion 
of  General  Assembly— Moses  speaker,  86;  "Pike's  Prostrate  state,"  86,  87;  General  election 
law,  87,  88;  State-House  furniture— census  law,  89  ;  State  bank  fraud— Homes  for  the  home- 
less, 90,  91;  Another  election  law,  91,  92;  Militia  laws -Campaign  for  Governor— 96,000 
negro  militia  enrolled — fraudulent  arms  contracts — use  made  of  militia,  92-95 ;  Scott's  re- 
markable veto,  95  ;  Impeachment :  how  prevented — Blue  Ridge  and  G.  &  C.  Railroad  frauds,  96, 
97  ;  Financial  Agent  Kimpton,  97,  98  ;  Legislative  ring— Printing  frauds,  99,  100  ;  President 
suspends  habeas  corpus  in  nine  counties — Causes  of  disorder,  100,  101 ;  Moses  elected  Gover- 
nor— High  taxes — Fall  of  values— Tax  sales — Tax-payers'  Convention,  101,  ir"2  ;  Fruitless 
mission  of  Committee  to  Washington,  102,  103 ;  Patterson  elected  Senator — Bribery — Corrupt 
use  by  Moses  of  pardoning  power,  104  ;  Two  hundred  trial  justices  who  could  not  read  or 
write,  104,  105  ;  Chamberlain  elected  Governor— Efforts  at  reform,  105,  106  ;  Moses  and 
Whipper  elected  judges— Chamberlain  refuses  to  commission  them,  107-109  ;  Race  conflicts, 
109;  Hampton  elected — Democratic  administration — Peace — Order — Reduced  taxes — In- 
creased values — Prosperity,  109, 110. 


CHAPTER  V. 

RECONSTRUCTION  IN    GEORGIA. 

Condition  in  1865 — opportunity  for  statesmanship,  112  ;  Harsh  measures — Freedman'a 
Bureau — Amnesty  proclamation — Confiscation  proceedings,  114  ;  James  Johnson,  provisional 
Governor — State  Convention — State  obligations  repudiated,  115,  116  ;  General  Assembly  laws 
—  Stephens  and  Herschel  Johnson  elected  Senators,  116,  117  ;  Members  of  Congress-elect 
refused  admission— Freedman's  Bureau  provokes  irritation  between  races,  118  ;  Reconstruc- 
tion Acts  of  1867 — Convention — Foster  Blodgett — Gen.  Pope  in  the  Convention — Meade  suc- 
ceeds Pope  and  seizes  State  revenues,  120-122  ;  Gov.  Jenkins — Bill  for  injunction  in  Supreme 
Court — Constitution,  its  provisions — Eligibility  of  negro  to  oflSce — Constitution  declared  rati- 


^jj.  CONTENTS. 

fied-Gov  Bullock,  122,  123;  General  Assembly-Remarkable  manner  of  organizing- 
Meade'8  refusal  to  interfere,  124,  125  ;  Joshua  Hill  and  Miller  elected  U.  S.  Senators-Negro 
members  unseated-Supreme  Court  decides  in  favor  of  right  of  negro,  12G,  127;  Military 
methods  of  administration  depicted-Ashburn  case-exasperating  proceedings.  127-130  ; 
Gov.  Bullock  and  test  oath-Special  Act  of  Congress  to  promote  reconstruction  of  the  State- 
"The  Government  has  determined  in  this  Republic  Republicans  shall  rule,"  130,  131  ; 
House  organized  by  Harris  detailed  by  Governor-his  rulings-Gen.  Terry  helps  decide 
questions  of  eligibility  of  members  of  General  Assembly,  132  ;  Congress  decides  Georgia  was 
a  State  in  the  Union  before  it  had  passed  supplemental  act  reconstructing  her,  133  ;  Extrava- 
gance-Railroad legislation,  133-135  ;  H.  I.  Kimball-Foster  Blodgett  again-Debt,  increase 
of,  135-137  ;  Election  law  of  1870— Exciting  campaign— State  redeemed,  138,  139. 


CHAPTER  VI.  • 

RKCONSTRUCTION  IN   FI^ORIDA. 

The  two  factions  of  the  Republican  party— Reed  and  Billings,  140 ;  Geo.  W.  Scott,  Demo- 
cratic candidate  for  Governor— Election  methods— Reed  declared  elected  and  new  Constitu- 
tion ratified,  Ul ;  Reed's  good  beginning,  142;  Salaries  I860  and  1868,  compared,  142,  113  ; 
Rapid  increase  of  expenditures-figures, 143,  144  ;  Election  law— Public  advertising— secret 
fund,  145  ;  Factional  troubles— Gov.  Reed's  quo  warranto  vs.  Lt.  Gov.  Gleason  as  non-resident- 
Secretary  State  Alden  removed,  145  ;  Impeachment  proceedings  against  Gov.  Reed- Report 
sustaining  charges— Charges  of  bribery— Reconciliation  of  factions,  146,  147  ;  Sale  of  Pa.  & 
Ga.  R.  R,148;  A  Cabinet  officer,  two  State  Senators  and  Gen.  Littlefleld  indicted  fur 
bribery- One  convicted  and  pardoned— Public  credit  suff"ering,  149  ;  Expenses  1860,  1869  com- 
pared, 150 ;  Impeachment  proceedings  against  Reed  still  pending — Florida  R.  R.  Co.  in 
Court— exposures,  151-153  ;  A  forged  law— attempted  use  of  it,  153,  154  ;  Election  for  Con- 
gressman and  Lt.  Governor — False  certificates,  155  ;  New  Legislature— forged  returns,  156  ; 
Gleason's  remarkable  entrj' into  the  Legislature  from  Dade,  156,  157;  Increase  in  debt  and 
taxation — figures,  157,  158  ;  Governor  complains  of  Littlefield's  frauds,  158  ;  Impeachment 
revived — articles  unanimously  adopted  by  General  Assembly — Democratic  Lt.  Governor  about 
to  get  office  by  judgment  of  the  court  and  impeachment  dropped,  158,  159;  Elections  for 
Governor  and  Congressmen — methods  and  results,  159,  160;  Republican  Gov.  Hart's  plain 
words— Bribery— Thieving— Election  frauds,  160,  161 ;  Hart's  eff'orts  ineffectual — "  Gala  day 
for  the  colored  brother,"  161, 162  ;  Election  methods  and  cases,  162-164  ;  Congressman  Pur- 
man  on  Governor  Stearns,  165  ;  Prostitution  of  U.  S.  Qourts,  165  ;  Fall  of  values,  1867  to 
1875 — figures,  166  ;  Receipts  and  expenditures- figures — school  statistics — Comparisons — 
Figures,  167,  168. 


CONTENTS.  ix 

CHAPTER  VII. 

RKCONSTRUCTION  in   TENNESSEE. 

Against  secession,  but  seceded  when  coercion  attempted,  170  ;  Andrew  Johnson  military 
Governor,  Lincoln  plan — Military  Gov.  Johnson's  proclamation  for  county  elections  in 
March,  1864 — Few  votes,  171,  172;  Presidential  campaign  of  18G1 — Enrollment  of  militia, 
— Gov.  Johnson  ordered  test-oath — Nashville  Convention  plan — Soldiers  six  months  in  state 
to  vote — McClellan  ticket  withdrawn,  172-175  ;  Small  vote  at  Presidential  election— Johnson 
elected  Vice-President— Ex-Committee  call  Convention  at  Nashville  for  9th  January,  1865, 
175  ;  Convention  met — Few  delegates  had  credentials  fi'om  primary  meetings — Abolishes 
slavery — Suspends  statutes  of  limitations — AfiRrms  Gov.  Johnson's  acts— Legislates — Nomi- 
nates Brownlow  for  Governor,  176  ;  Election  February  22d,  176  ;  Another  election  March 
4th — Peculiar  general  ticket  system— Brownlow  chosen,  a  Legislature  also,  177  ;  Confederacy 
failing — Legislature  convenes  April  2d— Brownlow  inaugurated  April  5th,  178;  Lee's  sur- 
render— Disposition  of  returning  Confederates,  178,  179  ;  View  of  Governor  and  Legislature — 
Law  excluding  Confederates  from  ballot-box — Proscriptive  legislation,  171^,  180;  Governor's 
proclamation,  threatening  those  who  may  violate  election  law — His  address,  181,  182; 
August  election  for  members  of  Congress— Votes  of  29  counties  cast  out — Results — Members- 
elect  not  admitted,  182,  183  ;  Brov.'nlow's  views  on  negro  suffrage,  184,  185;  Legislation  as 
to  freedmen,  185  ;  More  proscriptive  legislation,  185,  186  ;  Proceedings  to  obtain  quorum  in 
Legislature— Habeas  corpus  granted  by  Judge  Frazier— His  impeachment  and  conviction, 
187,  188  ;  Fourteenth  Amendment  adopted — Tennessee  members  and  Senators  admitted — 
President  Johnson's  message  thereupon,  188,  189  ;  Gov.  Brownlow's  message — Confederates 
excluded  from  jury-box— Negroes  enfranchised — Tests  to  exclude  Confederates  made  more 
rigid,  190,  191 ;  The  Brownlow  militia  -Extraordinary  powers— Factions — Conservative  and 
Radical  Repub. leans — Radicals  nominate  Brownlow — Conservatives,  Etheridge— The  canvass 
— The  State  Guards— Their  organization — Their  conduct  during  the  canvass — Brownlow's 
faction  triumphant,  193-198;  The  Alden  ring  at  Nashville,  its  outrages  and  robberies,  198- 
200  ;  New  Legislature,  October,  1867 — Ratifies  Brownlow's  irregtilar  or  unlawful  acts — Its 
legislation — County  guards— county  police— Sheriff  paid  as  captain  of  infanti-y,  etc.,  2^0-2'^  3; 
The  Ku-klux — Call  on  Gen.  Thomas  for  U.  S.  troops— Extra  session — Petition  for  repeal  of 
franchise  law — More  amendments  to  militia  law — Law  against  Ku-klux,  203-210  ;  Origin  of 
Ku-klux  Klan,  210 ;  Presidential  election,  1868.  210  ;  Governor  proclaims  martial  law  in 
certain  counties — Brownlow  elected  Senator — D.  W.  C.  Senter,  Speaker  of  the  House, 
inaugurated  Governor,  212  ;  Extravagance  and  corruption  of  34th  General  Assemblj- — Cost 
of  State  Guards— Increase  of  debt,  212-214 ;  The  August  election  approaching— Stokes, 
Radical,  and  Senter,  Conservative  Republican,  candidates — issue  the  repeal  of  the  fran- 
chise law — Senter  and  Conservative  Legislature  elected — Constitutional  Convention  January^ 
1870 — Peace  and  prosperity,  214,  215. 


^  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

RECONSTRUCTION   IN  VIRGINIA. 

Conventions  at  Wheeling  May  13th  and  June  llth-Convention  elected  Picrpoint 
Governor  and  two  U.  S.  Senators-Congressmen  elected  in  May-Congress  recogni/el 
Wheeling  Government,  216,  217  ;  New  state  proposed-Attorney-General  Bates'  protest, 
217,  218;  West  Virginia  formed-How,  219-221;  Restored  Virginia  at  Alexandria- Gen. 
Ben  Butler's  derisive  treatment-Pierpoint's  appeal  to  Lincoln,  221-224  ;  Lincoln's  theory 
of  Restoration-Evidence  as  to,  225-230 ;  Pierpoint's  Government  in  Richmond  repeals 
disfranchising  laws  and  completes  reorganization  of  state,  230-232;  Representatives  of 
Virginia  barred  out  of  Congress-Why  ?  232-234 ;  Mr.  Stevens-The  Committee  of  Fifteen, 
234-236;  Review— Military  rule— Freedman's  Bureau,  236-238;  Legislation  respecting 
freedmen,  238-244  ;  The  Courts  under  Reconstruction,  244-249  ;  Virginia  "  civiliter  mortuus" 
—Gen.  Stonemau's  Report— Republican  factions— The  Committee  of  Nine— Disfranchising 
clauses  stricken  out—Constitution  adopted— State  restored,  249-253 ;  The  Constitutional 
question— Practically  settled  forever— Conclusion,  257. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

RECONSTRUCTION  IN  WEST  VIRGINIA. 

Division  of  sentiment  on  questions  relating  to  Civil  War — Many  in  both  armies.  258, 
259 ;  Constitution  of  1863,  260  ;  First  appearance  of  test  oath,  261  ;  Election  fall  of  1864 — 
Little  opposition  to  Republican  candidates — Election  law  amended  in  February,  1805 — 
Remarkable  provisions,  261-263  ;  Proposed  constitutional  amendment,  263  ;  How  control 
over  the  suffrage  was  given  to  the  Governor,  264,  205 ;  Test-oath  to  punish  certain  at- 
torney s-at- law,  264,  265  ;  How  constitutional  amendment  was  adopted,  266,  267  ;  Prtscrip- 
tivo  legislation— No  Virginian  allowed  to  sue  a  loyal  West  Virginian,  267,  268  ;  More 
proscription,  1868 — Andrew  Johnson  must  be  impeached  and  West  Virginia  tenders  her 
assistance  to  the  United  States — Special  acts  to  allow  attorneys  to  practice — Also  a  young 
lady  to  teach  school  without  test-oath,  268,  269;  Democrats  successful  in  elections  1S7U — 
Review  of  conditions  imposed  by  Legislature  on  Ex- Confederates,  270-272 ;  How  the  state 
Courts  sustained  these  laws,  remarkable  decisions — Cases  cited,  272-276;  Democratic  Con- 
stitution of  1872  ended  this  class  of  litigation,  276  ;  Decisions  of  state  courts  on  the  new 
legislation  and  of  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  cited,  270-278  ;  Attorney's  test-oath  case— The 
■State  Court  vs.  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  and  resolution  of  Legislature,  279 ;  Edwin  M.  Stanton 
appears  in  a  test-oath  case— U.  S.  Distiict  Courts  in  contrast  with  state  Courts,  279  ;  Jud£o 


CONTENTS.  XI 

Nathaniel  Harrison — His  career  on  both  sides  of  the  line,  279-281 ;  Col.  Hounshell,  ex- 
Confederate,  kicked  out  of  capitol  for  making  charges  against  Harrison — Eesolutions 
thereon,  281,  282 ;  Harrison's  subsequent  career  -It  brings  upon  him  new  articles  of 
impeachment — He  flees  the  state — Kesigns — Dies  in  Denver,- Colorado,  282-284;  Democrats 
successful  in  1870 — Proscription  passed — Prosperity  begins,  284. 


CHAPTER  X. 

RECONSTRUCTION    IN    MISSOURI. 

Constitutional  Convention  called  by  act  of  February,  1864 — Section  III.  of  Constitution, 
285-286  ;  Election  for  ratification — Test-oath— Gen.  Blair,  288 — Ex  parte  Cummings— Sales  of 
railroads,  289-290  ;  Fraudulent  county  bonds — Supreme  Court  decisions — Judge  and  County 
Attorney  shot  to  death — Conclusion,  291-293. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

RECONSTRUCTION  IN  ARKANSAS. 

Condition  at  close  of  war— Election  of  delegates  to  Constitutional  Convention — Submitted 
to  people,  295-296  ;  Constitution  submitted  under  law  requiring  majority  of  registered  vote — 
Law  changed  after  election  had  begun,  too  late  for  notice  to  reach  voters,  296-297  ;  jMartial 
law — Negro  Militia — Adjt.-Gen.  Dausforth's  letter — Militia  outrages  amnestied,  299 — Election 
laws  and  methods,  300-301 — Erasing  registration  books,  301 — Throwing  out  counties  and  pre- 
cincts, 301-302  ;  Election  methods  and  laws,  instances,  302-305 — Revenues — Oppressive  Taxa- 
tion, 305-306 — Extravagant  expenditures — Particular  instances — Figures — Tax  sales,  306-308 
— County  and  school  district  debts  incurred,  308-399 — Fraudulent  bonds  to  railroads,  310  ; 
Levee  taxes  and  bonds,  310-311 — The  Real  Estate  Bank  and  the  North  American  Trust  and 
Banking  Co. — The  ring  exposed,  311-312  ;  Bribery  instances,  312-313  ;  Miscellaneous  out- 
rages— Many  from  Poland's  Report,  315-320. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

RECONSTRUCTION    IN   MISSISSIPPI. 

Andrew  Johnson  on  Reconstruction  Acts,  321  ;  Gov.  Clarke  calls  Legislature  to  restore 
relations  of  the  State  to  the  Uuion — Legislature  dissolved  by  military  order — Gov.  Clarke 
arrested,  321-323  ;  President  appoints  Sharkey  Provisional  Governor — Constitutional  Conven- 
tion, composed  almost  exclusively  of  Union  men — Its  work,  323-325  ;  President  informs  Con- 


CONTENTS, 
xu 

,ress-MissisHippiandother8tatesarerestored-Gen.Grant'sreportastoconditionofthe  South, 
30^326  •  Congress  refuses  to  admit  Congressmen  elect-Abolishes  civil  government  of  state- 
Substitutes  Military  rule-Enfranchises  and  disfranchises-Most  of  the  whites  abstain  fron. 
voting  for  delegates  to  convention-A  few  capable  and  good  men  elected,  327-328  ;  Consftu- 
tional  Convention-Its  membership-Its  work-Test-oath.  provided  for  trials  away  from 
locale  by  alleged  crime-Mixed  public  schools,  328-330;  Constitution  rejected-EtTorts  to 
overcome  rejection-Committee  of  five,  330-332-Congress  orders  another  election-Negn-e. 
driUed-Loyal  League-Unfair  apportionment-Kepublicans  successful-State  reconstructed, 
332-333;  Legislature,  complexion-United  States  Senators-Negro  and  army  oihcer  Amcs- 
Conflict  of  races  organized-Freedman's  Savings  Bank-Character  of  officials,  333-335  ;  Par- 
tisan judges-Spies-Military,  335-336;  Gov.  Ames  declares  it  an  "  issue  of  race  "-Educa- 
tional system-The  Chief  embezzled,  forged,  stole  and  fled  the  state,  337-Profligacy  and 
extravagance,  338;  Tax-payers'  prayer,  338-339;  Hon.  Eugene  Hale,  description  by,  339- 
3i0;  State  redeemed  in  1875-Keduction  of  taxation-Kedemption  of  lands  sold  for  taxes, 
340-342  ;  Education-Dr.  Mayo,  342  ;  What  Abraham  Lincoln  taught,  343-344  ;  Lincoln  to 
Shepley-Henry  Ward  Beecher,  344^-345  ;  Lessons  of  History,  346-347  ;  Concluding  observa- 
tions, 347-348. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

RECONSTRUCTION   IN  TEXAS. 

Condition  at  close  of  War— comparatively  prosperous  in  1865,  349  ;  Andrew  J.  Ham- 
ilton appointed  Provisional  Governor— New  Constitu.ion  adopted— Throckmorton  elected 
Governor— his  inaugural  address,  351-353 ;  Slavery  abolished— War  debt  repudiated— Ordi- 
nance of  secession  declared  null,  353 ;  Telegram  from  President  Johnson— Throckmorton's 
conservatism,  353-355  ;  Freedman's  Bureau  operations,  356 ;  Burning  of  town  of  Brenham 
by  drunken  soldiers— Indignation— Committee  reports  facts,  35G,  357  ;  Murders  in  Gauda- 
loupe  County— Circumstances,  357-359;  Governor  Throckmorton's  corre-pondence  on  Ihe 
subject  with  Gen.  Sheridan  and  Brig.-Gen.  Oakes,  360-365;  Reconstruction  Acts  passed  — 
Gov.  Throckmorton  accepts  situation — Continues  under  Gen.  Sheridan,  366 ;  Gen.  Sheridan 
removes  Throckmorton— Appoints  Pea^e,  307  ;  Pease  asks  Gen.  Hancock  to  appoint  mili- 
tary tribunals—  Hancock's  refusal — Hancock  removed — Military  commissions — Prostrate 
judiciary,  308;  Reconstruction  Convention— Pease  recommends  Convention  to  di>franchise 
number  sufficient  to  place  state  in  hands  of  loyal  persons,  etc.,  309  ;  Character  of  Consti- 
tution—Davis made  Governor -12th  Legislature — Bribery  and  corruption  369,370;  Passage 
of  law  authorizing  Governor  to  select  and  enroll  militia  and  to  d  clare  martial  law,  371, 
372  ;  Law  of  July  1,  1870,  established  "state  police"  and  gave  Governor  absolute  power 
over  all  executive  officer^,  372,  373 ;  Terrorism  under  Davis— Gathings  case,  374,  375  ; 
Oongressional  elections  October,  1871— Methods,  375,  376 ;  Walker,  Limestone  and  Free- 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

stone  Counties,  martial  law  in,  376,  377  ;  Indebtedness  of  towns  and  counties  increased 
377  ;  Increase  of  taxation  and  state  debt— Credit  destroyed— School  fund  robbed — Election 
of  Democratic  Governor  and  Legislature— Eesto-ation  of  credit — Reduction  of  taxation, 
378,  379;  Increase  of  population — Capital— School  funds — Low  taxes — Prosperous  schools 
— No  discrimination  on  account  of  color,  379-381 ;  Conclusion,  381,  382. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

RECONSTRUCTION   IN   I.OUISIANA. 

Introductory — Situation,  383-385  ;  Steps  from  War  to  Peace — Election  of  Governor  Hahn, 
February,  1864 — Election  for  Constitution,  September  1864,  385,  386  ;  Lincoln's  course — Joint 
Resolution  of  Legislature,  387-389  ;  The  riot  of  July,  1866— Causes,  389-392  ;  Military  Gov- 
ernment in  Peace— Sheridan — Hancock — Packard — Registration  methods— Methods  under 
Lincoln,  at  war,  1864 — Methods  in  peace,  1^68,  under  reconstruction— Contrasted,  392-397  ; 
The  Advent  of  Warmothism — Methods— Board  of  Registration — Expenses— Returning  Board 
methods — Bribery — Instances  and  figures,  397-403  ;  Warmothism — Expenditures  contrasted 
— Debt  and  taxation— Figures — Constabulary  law — Metropolitan  Police— Catling  and  Napol- 
eon guns— Infantry,  cavalry,  artillery  and  state  navy— How  Governor  obtained  control  of 
judiciary— Complete  Dictatorship — Profligacy  and  corruption— United  States  troops  and 
Deputy  Marshals— Republican  factions  at  War — General  Emery  interferes— Election  of  1872 
— Disputed  result — Kellogg  vs.  Warmoth — Warmoth's  hitherto  unsigned  law — Durell's  Mid- 
night order — Senator  Carpenter's  Report — United  States  artillery  in  possession  of  State  Capi- 
tol— Kellogg  installed— Colfax  Riot,  403-417  ;  Warmoth-Kelloggism — Metropolitan  Police 
increased — Cavalry — Artillery — Tax  resisters — Registration  and  election  laws  improved  on — 
Profits  of  debt  scaling — Figures — Collisions  between  people  and  military — Democratic  vic- 
tory of  1874  reversed  by  Returning  Board — De  Trobriand — Troops  march  Democrats  out  of 
Legislative  Hall — They  again  disperse  legal  Legislature  in  1875— General  Sheridan,  417-424  ; 
Final  struggle  for  supremacy — Democrats  victorious — Returning  Board  again,  424-427  ; 
Shrinking  of  values — Figures — Increase  of  debt— Figures— Conclusion,  424-429. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

SUNRISE. 

Prosperity  follows  the  restoration  of  good  govprnment — South  advancing — The  last 
decade — Figures  from  Manufacturer's  Record,  as  to  assessed  values,  railroads,  agricultural 
products,  mining,  manufacturing,  banking,  430-434  ;  Rates  of  percentage  of  increase  three- 
fold greater  South  than  North  and  West,  435  ;  Vice-President  Morton's  interview,  436,  437 ; 
Education  of  the  negro— Statistics,  43S,  439  ;  The  race  question,  4'>9-142. — Appendix,  4t3. 


PREFACE. 


PEKHAPS  in  no  particular  is  the  intellectual  pro- 
gress of  this  age  more  notable  than  in  the  ever 
increasing  public  demand  for  accurate  history.  In 
the  phenomena  of  preceding  ages  we  seek  the  causes 
of  existing  conditions.  Of  these  existing  conditions 
the  most  potent  factor  is  to  be  found,  of  course,  in 
the  immediate  past.  The  lessons  drawn  from  recent 
experience  will  ahvays,  therefore,  be  the  most  valu- 
able that  history  can  teach ;  provided  only  we  get 
the  facts  correctly  before  us.  The  difficulties  when 
one  writes  of  what  happened  only  twenty  and  twenty- 
five  years  ago  are  twofold,  resting  both  with  the 
writer  and  the  reader.  The  former  must  school  himself 
to  an  impartial  study  of  his  topic  that  he  may  write 
correctly;  the  latter  must  endeavor  to  lay  aside  pre- 
judice that  he  may  judge  fairly.  The  authors  of  the 
articles  which  comprise  this  volume,  each  agreed 
when  he  undertook  the  task  assigned  him  to  write  as 
impartially  as  possible,  to  "understate  rather  than  to 


XV 


^^.l  PREFACE. 

overstate  facts."  In  like  manner  the  reader  is  in- 
vited to  judge  calmly  and  dispassionately  of  the 
statements  these  writers  have  made,  and  draw  his 
own  inferences.  He  may  possibly  conclude  that  each 
has  failed  in  greater  or  less  degree  in  his  effort  to 
write  dispassionately;  but  he  wall  probably  be  more 
ready  to  overlook  any  exhibitions,  if  such  there  be, 
of  temper,  that  ought  to  have  been  restrained,  w^hen 
he  remembers  that  we  were  all  parts  of  what  we 
relate. 

"  Quis  talia  fando 
Myrmidonum,  Dolopumve  aut  duri  miles  Ulixei, 
Temperet  a  lacrimis  ?  " 

A  complete  history  of  reconstruction  in  all  the 
states  would  fill  many  volumes.  The  plan  of  this 
work  has  been  to  condense  into  a  chapter  the  con- 
trolling facts  in  relation  to  each  state.  It  is  hoped 
that  we  may  thus  arrest  the  attention  of  men  who 
can  devote  to  public  ajffairs  only  a  few  hours  of  their 
time. 

Each  article  is  signed  by  its  author,  who  thus  be- 
comes directly  responsible  for  the  truth  of  his  state- 
ments. 

The  parallelism  throughout  the  history  of  all  these 
states,  whether  in  lines  of  retrogression  or  of  pro- 
gress, furnishes  a  striking  illustration  of  the  truism. 
— Like  causes  produce  like  effects. 


PKEFACE.  xvii 

This  work  has  not  been  undertaken  with  any  such 
impracticable  purpose  as  agitating  for  the  repeal  of 
the  Fifteenth  Amendmentj  or  for  the  deportation  of 
the  negro.  Its  object  is  to  show  to  the  public,  and 
more  especially  to  those  business  men  of  the  North, 
who  have  made  investments  in  the  South,  or  who 
have  trade  relations  with  their  Southern  fellow- 
citizens,  the  consequences  which  once  followed  an 
interference  in  the  domestic  affairs  of  certain  states 
by  those,  who  either  did  not  understand  the  situation 
or  were  reckless  of  results.  A  thorough  comprehen- 
sion of  the  facts  we  attempt  to  portray  will,  it  is  be- 
lieved, at  least  aid  the  reader  in  deciding  what  ought 
not  to  be  done  by  the  Federal  Government.  Even 
this  much  will  be  of  value  in  the  solution  of  one  of 
the  pressing  problems  of  to-day,  for,  however  it  may 
be  in  morals,  in  statesmanship,  it  is  undoubtedly  true 
that  sins  of  commission  are  generally  more  fatal  than 
sins  of  omission. 

Hilary  A.  Herbert. 

April  1,  1890. 


WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

OR, 

RECONSTRUCTION   AND   ITS   RESULTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

RECONSTRUCTION   AT  WASHINGTON. 

UNDER  ABRAHAM  I,INCOI,N. 

I'^HE  death  of  Abraham  Lincoln  was  an  appalling  calam- 
ity-— especially  to   the  South,     Had  the  crazy  assassin 
withheld  his  hand,  reconstruction  could  never  have  been 
formulated,    as   it   was,   into   the   Acts   of    March    2d   and 
March  23d,  1867. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  leading  thought  in  the  conduct  of  the  war 
was  the  preservation  of  the  Government  of  the  fathers; 
and  he  took  issue  squarely  with  those  who,  like  Mr.  Sum- 
ner, were  seeking  to  take  advantage  of  the  times  and  ^'  change 
this  Government  from  its  original  form  and  make  it  a  strong 
centralized  power. ''"^  He  believed  the  Government  to 
be,  as  Chief  Justice  Chase  afterwards  defined  it,  in  Texas 
vs.  White,  '^  an  indestructible  union  composed  of  indestruc- 
tible states. "  Upon  this  idea  of  the  constitution  he  based 
his  theory  of  restoration, — a  theory  which,  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  was  well  known,  though  it  appears  to  have  since 
been  industriously  forgotten.  This  theory  was,  that  the 
insurrectionary  states,  notwithstanding  the  w*ar,  still  ex- 
isted as  states — that  they  were  never  out  of  the  Union 
and   were    always   subject   to   the   constitution.      Hence   it 

*  Nicolay  and  Hay's  " Lincoln.'"— Century,  Oct.,  1889. 

1 


2  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

followed  that  those  people  of  these  several  states,  who  were 
entitled  to  vote  by  the  laws  existing  at  the  date  of  the  at- 
tempted acts  of  secession,  had,  when  they  returned  to  their 
alleo-iance  and  were  pardoned,  the  power  of  reconstruction 
in  their  own  hands.  On  this  theory  President  Lincoln 
aided  the  people  to  set  up  state  governments  in  Tennessee, 
Louisiana  and  Arkansas— all  without  any  aid  from  Congress. 

But  from  the  beginning  there  were  eminent  Republicans 
in  Congress  who  denied  the  authority  of  the  President  to 
"intermeddle,"  as  they  called  it,  in  this  business.  As 
early  as  1861,  Mr.  Stevens,  of  Pennsylvania,  had  an- 
nounced the  doctrine,  that  the  constitution  and  laws  were 
suspended  where  they  could  not  be  enforced ;  that  those  who 
had  defied  them  could  not  invoke  their  protection,  and  that 
Congress  could  legislate  for  such  rebellious  territory  outside 
of  and  without  regard  to  the  Constitution. 

Mr.  Sumner  laid  down  the  proposition,  in  resolutions 
introduced  February  11th,  1862,  that,  by  attempting  to 
secede,  a  state  had  committed  suicide,  and  its  soil  had 
become  territory  subject  to  the  supreme  control  of  Con- 
gress. Both  of  these  theories,  which  did  not  differ  in  result, 
denied  to  the  President  any  power  whatever  in  the  premises. 

But  Mr.  Lincoln  seems  always  to  have  stood  on  the  declara- 
tion made  by  Congress  in  July,  1861  :  that  the  war  was 
being  waged  "  to  defend  the  Constitution  and  all  laws  in  pur- 
suance thereof,  and  to  preserve  the  union,  with  all  the  dignitv, 
equality  and  rights  of  the  several  states  unimpaired;  tliat  as 
soon  as  these  objects  were  aocompUshed,  the  icar  ought  to 
cease, "  &c. 

Pursuing  steadily  the  spirit  of  these  resolutions,  even 
down  to  the  day  of  his  unhappy  death,  reconstruction  as 
practiced  by  him  was,  simply,  restoration  of  civil  author- 
ity in  the  insurgent,  but  still  existent  states  by  the  people 
thereof,  aided  by  the  military  power  of  the  United  States. 

More  than  two  years  af\er  this  question  of  power  had 
begun  to  be  mooted  in  Congress  the  President  formulated 
and  communicated  to  that  body,  in  his  message  of  Decem- 
ber 8th,  1863,  the  plan  he  proposed  thereafter  to  follow. 
In   no   material   particular   did   it    differ   from   the  theory 


EECONSTKUCTION  AT  WASHINGTON.  3 

upon  which  he  had  theretofore  acted.  He  said  :  '^  Looking 
now  to  the  2)resent  and  future,  and  with  reference  to  a  resump- 
tion of  the  national  authority  within  the  states  wherein  that 
authority  has  been  suspended,  I  have  thought  fit  to  issue 
a  proclamation,  a  copy  of  which  is  herewith  transmitted.'' 

In  the  proclamation,  embracing  the  plan,  he  offers  par- 
don to  all  who  will  swear  ''henceforth'^  to  support  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  &c.,  and  proclaims  that 
when  those  who,  accepting  this  amnesty,  shall  have  taken 
the  oath  of  allegiance,  each  ''  being  a  qualified  voter  by  the 
election  laws  of  the  state,  existing  immediateli)  before  the  so- 
called  act  of  secession,  and  excluding  all  others,  shall  re-es- 
tablish a  state  government,  which  shall  be  republican  and 
in  no  wise  contravening  said  oath  ;  such  shall  be  recognized 
as  the  true  government  of  the  state,^'  etc.,  etc. 

This  was  President  Lincoln's  plan  for  restoring  the  in- 
surgent states  to  the  Union  ;  it  left  the  question  of  suf- 
frage entirely  in  the  hands  of  those  who  were  qualified  to 
vote  under  the  laws  existing  at  the  date  of  secession.  It  was 
precisely  this  proposition — viz.,  that  each  insurgent  state, 
at  the  time  of  rehabilitation,  must  decide  for  itself  whether 
it  would  adopt  negro  suffrage — that  angered  the  Republicans 
in  Congress  when  acted  on  by  Andrew  Johnson ;  and  culmi- 
nated in  the  impeachment  proceedings. 

But  Abraham  Lincoln  and  Andrew  Johnson  were  two  dif- 
ferent persons.  Johnson  was  pugnacious — seeking  always  to 
beat  down  his  adversary  and  never  to  conciliate.  Lincoln, 
on  the  other  hand,  never  needlessly  antagonized  those  who 
could  be  won  to  his  views,  though  he  was  accustomed  to  adhere 
to  his  matured  opinions  with  inflexible  purpose  ;  as  we  shall 
see  he  did  in  this  case,  in  the  face  of  the  fiercest  op])osition. 

When  this  message  of  December,  1863,  went  in,  many  of 
the  Republican  leaders  were  claiming  for  Congress  exclusive 
jurisdiction  over  the  question  of  reconstruction  under  the 
clause  of  the  Constitution  which  declares  that :  ''  The  United 
States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this  Union  a  repub- 
lican form  of  government."  The  counter-claim  by  the  Pres- 
ident, that  he  could  aid  the  people  to  set  up  governments  for 
themselves,  seemed  a  challenge. 


4  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Congress  debated  the  question  at  length,  and  finally,  in  July, 
1864,  passed,  by  a  small  majority  in  each  House,  a  bill  "to 
guarantee  to  certain  states  a  republican  form  ot  government." 

This  bill  did  not  meet  the  wishes  of  extremists,  because  it 
did  not  give  the  ballot  to  the  negro  ;  but,  if  it  became  law, 
it  would  be  a  step  gained  for  the  extremists.  It  asserted  the 
jurisdiction  of  Congress  and  provided  expressly  that  the 
President  should  recognize  by  proclamation  the  state  govern- 
ments established  under  it,  only  ^' after  obtaining  the  consent 
of  Congress. "  The  President  refused  to  approve  the  bill  and 
defeated  it  by  a  "  pocket  veto."  July  9th  he  made  a  public 
statement,  giving  reasons  for  his  course.  The  bill,  he  said, 
was  received  by  him  only  one  hour  before  the  adjournment 
of  Congress,  and,  among  other  things,  he  thought  that  the 
system  of  restoration  it  provided  was  "  one  very  proper  for 
the  loyal  people  of  any  state  choosing  to  adopt  it. "  But  he 
clearly  was  opposed  to  forcing  it  on  any  state  by  law,  as  he 
went  on  to  say  that  he  would  at  all  times  be  "  prepared  to  give 
the  Executive  aid  and  assistance  to  any  such  peo])Ie  ;  "  that  is, 
people  who  should  "  choose  to  adopt  it, "  the  Congressional 
plan,  "  when  the  insurrection  should  be  suppressed, "  etc. 
Senator  Wade  and  Representative  Henry  Winter  Davis  re- 
sponded in  an  angry  protest.  To  the  admirers  of  Mr.  Lincoln 
this  document,  dated  in  July,  1864,  contains  charges  that  are 
astounding.  After  stating  that  the  signers  had  read  the  pro- 
clamation "without  surprise,  but  not  without  indignation," 
the  protest  contends  that  want  of  time  for  examination  was  a 
false  pretense.  "  Ignorance  of  its  contents  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion," says  the  manifesto  ;  and  then  argues  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  cognizant  of  a  plan  by  which  "  the  bill  would  be  staved 
off  in  the  Senate  to  a  period  too  late  in  the  session  to  require 
the  President  to  veto  it  in  order  to  defeat  it,  and  that  he," 
the  President,  "  would  retain  the  bill  if  necessary,  and  thereby 
defeat  it. " 

The  protest  further  says  :  "  The  President,  by  preventing 
this  bill  from  becoming  a  law,  holds  the  electoral  votes  of  the 
rebel  states  at  the  dictation  of  his  personal  ambition,"  and 
complains  that  the  will  of  Congress  is  to  be  "  held  for  nought 
unless  the  loyal  people  of  the  rebel  states  choose  to  adopt  it.'' 


EECONSTRUCTION  AT  WASHINGTON.  5 

It  also  calls  Mr.  Lincoln's  action  ^^  a  studied  outrage  on  the 
legislative  rights  of  the  people.'^ 

Here  the  issue  was  squarely  made  whether  the  President  was  / 
to  restore  or  the  Congress  to  reconstruct  the  insurgent  states./ 

The  President  went  on  his  way. 

Long  after  his  plan  of  restoration  had  been  published  to  the 
world  his  party,  in  convention  assembled,  had  approved  his 
"  practical  wisdom,"  "  unselfish  patriotism  "  and  "  unswerving 
fidelity  to  the  Constitution,'^  and  now,  in  November,  1864,  on 
this  platform,  Mr.  Lincoln  received  212  electoral  votes  to 
21  for  George  B.  McClellan. 

On  the  5th  of  December,  1864,  the  President  sent  in  his  last 
annual  message,  which  was  without  any  allusion  to  the  question 
of  reconstruction,  unless  it  was  in  his  mind  when,  speaking  of 
the  insurgents,  he  said  :  "  They  can  at  any  moment  have 
peace  simply  by  laying  down  their  arms  and  submitting  to  the 
national  authority  under  the  Constitution  ;"  and  its  closing 
words  possibly  had  reference  to  the  same  subject :  "  In  stating 
a  single  condition  of  peace,  I  mean  to  say  that  the  war  will 
cease  on  the  part  of  the  Government  whenever  it  shall  have 
ceased  on  the  part  of  those  who  began  it.'' 

It  is  very  clear  that  up  to  this  point  Mr.  Lincoln  was  de- 
termined never  to  become  a  party  to  any  political  war  upon 
the  Southern  states  waged  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  them 
to  range  under  a  political  banner. 

Congress,  during  the  session  that  ended  1864-65,  either  did 
not  care  or  did  not  dare  to  insist  on  any  reassertion  of  its  right 
to  reconstruct.  On  the  contrary,  seeing,  as  it  undoubtedly 
did,  that  the  Confederacy  was  about  to  collapse,  it  adjourned 
on  the  4th  of  March,  leaving  Mr.  Lincoln  an  open  field  for 
his  policy  of  restoration.  Every  member  of  that  Congress 
knew  what  that  policy  was.  It  meant  ihe  promptest  possible 
restoration  of  civil  authority  in  the  states  by  the  aid  of  Exec- 
utive power.  And  so,  now,  shortly  before  his  death,  the 
President  went  on  to  prepare,  or  cause  to  be  prepared,  the 
proclamation  for  the  restoration  of  North  Carolina,  which  was 
issued  by  his  successor,  Andrew  Johnson,  May  29th,  1865,  and 
was  the  basis  of  all  Mr.  Johnson's  subsequent  work  in  that 
field. 


g  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Mr.  McCuUoch,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  during  the  last 
few  weeks  of  Lincoln's  and  throughout  the  whole  of  Johnson's 
administration,  says,  in  his  "  Men  and  Measures  of  Half  a 
Century,"  p.  378  :  "  The  very  same  instrument  for  restoring 
the  national  authority  over  North  Carolina  and  placing  her 
where  she  stood  before  her  attempted  secession,  which  had  been 
approved  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  was,  by  Mr.  Stanton,  presented  at 
the  first  Cabinet  meeting  which  was  held  at  the  Executive 
Mansion  after  Mr.  Lincoln's  death,  and,  having  been  carefully 
considered  at  two  or  three  meetings,  was  adopted  as  the  re- 
construction policy  of  the  Administration." 

On  the  18th  day  of  July,  1867,  Geu  Grant,  before  the  Re- 
construction Committee,  said  that,  according  to  his  recollection, 
*'  the  very  paper  (the  North  Carolina  proclamation)  which  I 
heard  read  twice  while  Mr.  Lincoln  was  President  was  the  one 
which  was  carried  right  through,"  by  President  Johnson. 

In  the  face  of  these  facts  it  is  remarkable  that  intelligent 
public  opinion  should  seem  to  have  since  settled  down  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  restoration  policy  of  Andrew  Johnson  was 
a  departure  from  that  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Upon  the  all 
important  and  controlling  point,  that  the  people  of  each  state 
were  to  settle  for  themselves  the  question  of  suffrage,  this  being 
a  constitutional  right  they  had  not  lost,  the  views  of  Lincoln 
and  Johnson  were  identical. 

It  would  seem  that  Mr.  Blaine  holds  a  different  opinion. 
He  says,  in  discussing  the  North  Carolina  proclamation  as  is- 
sued by  Johnson,  vol.  II.  p.  77,  "Twenty  Years  in  Congress"  : 

"It  was  specially  provided  in  the  Proclamation  that  in 
choosing  delegates  to  any  state  convention  no  person  shall  be 
qualified  as  an  elector  or  eligible  as  a  member,  unless  he  shall 
have  previously  taken  the  pi'escribed  oath  of  allegiance  and 
unless  he  shall  also  possess  the  qualifications  of  a  voter  as  de- 
fined under  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  North  Carolina,  as 
they  existed  on  the  20th  May,  1861,  immediately  prior  to  the 
so-called  ordinance  of  secession.  Mr.  Lincoln  had  in  mind, 
as  was  shown  by  his  letter  to  Gov.  Hahn,  of  Louisiana,  to 
try  the  experiment  of  negro  suffrage,  beginning  with  those  who 
had  served  in  the  Union  Army  and  who  could  read  and  write  ; 
but  President  Johnson's  plan  confined  the  suffrage  to  white 


EECONSTRUCTION  AT  WASHINGTON.  7 

men,  by  prescribing   the  same   qualifications  as  required  in 
North  Carolina  before  the  war.'^ 

Not  only  was  this  North  Carolina  proclamation  approved 
by  Mr.  Lincoln  ;  not  only  was  it  consistent  with  the  theory  he 
had  so  long:  maintained  against  such  fierce  opposition  ;  not 
only  did  it  leave  the  question  of  suffrage  exactly  where  it  was 
left  by  the  message  of  December  8th,  1863  ;  but  the  very  letter 
referred  to  by  Mr.  Blaine,  to  show  a  difference  between  the 
views  of  the  two  statesmen,  conclusively  proves,  when  quoted 
fully,  that  they  both  believed  that,  as  was  provided  in  the 
proclamation  Mr.  Blaine  was  discussing,  suffrage  was  a  matter 
for  the  states  to  regulate. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  letter  to  Gov.  Hahn  says:  "Now  you  are 
about  to  have  a  convention  which,  among  other  things,  will 
probably  define  the  elective  franehise,  I  barely  suggest,  for  your 
private  consideration,  whether  some  of  the  colored  people  may 
not  be  let  in,  as,  for  instance,  the  very  intelligent,  and  espe- 
cially those  who  have  fought  gallantly  in  our  ranks. 

"  But  this  is  only  a  suggestion,  not  to  the  public,  but  to  you 
alone.^' 

Andrew  Johnson  made  a  similar  suggestion  when  he  wrote, 
August  15th,  1865,  to  Gov.  Sharkey,  of  Mississippi :  "  If  you 
could  extend  the  elective  franchise  to  all  persons  of  color  who 
can  read  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  in  English  and 
write  their  names,  and  to  all  persons  of  color  who  own  real 
estate  valued  at  not  less  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars, 
and  pay  taxes  thereon,  you  would  completely  disarm  the  ad- 
versary and  set  an  example  that  other  states  will  follow.^' 

The  difference  was  that  Andrew  Johnson  did  not  say :  "  This  \ 
is  only  a  suggestion,  not  to  the  public,  but  to  you  alone.^^ 

The  letter  to  Gov.  Hahn  does  show  that  Mr.  Lincoln  would 
have  been  glad  to  have  the  states,  in  regulating  the  suffrage, 
make  certain  exceptions  in  favor  of  the  negro — exceptions  that 
w^ould  not  probably  embrace  ten  per  cent,  of  the  colored  male 
adults  in  any  Southern  state,  and  could  therefore  have  done  no 
harm — but  the  letter  also  clearly  shows  that  he  thought  it 
would  be  an  unwarrantable  interference  with  the  rights  of  the 
state  for  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  do  more  than 
make  a  private  suggestion  about  the  matter.     That  the  writer 


8  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

of  this  letter  would  ever  have  consented  to  put  negro  suffrage 
upon  the  states  by  a  law  of  Congress  is  inconceivable;  unless 
there  had  come  some  radical  change  in  his  opinions;  and  this 
cannot  be  shown. 

If  no  better  evidence  can  be  adduced  than  this  offered  by 
Mr.  Blaine  to  show  a  difference  between  the  plans  of  two 
Presidents,  and  we  have  seen  none,  then  we  are  authorized  to 
conclude  that  the  Presidential  plan  remained  the  same,  from 
the  time  it  was  inaugurated  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  1862,  down  to 
the  date  when,  in  March,  1867,  Congress  concluded  to  destroy 
the  state  governments,  which  the  people,  acting  in  accordance 
with  that  plan,  had  set  up  for  themselves — some  of  them  under 
Lincoln's  and  others  under  Johnson's  supervision. 

In  discussing  the  motives  which  influenced  Congress  in  re- 
fusing to  recognize  and  in  finally  overthrowing  these  govern- 
ments and  demanding  constitutional  amendments,  a  great 
American  law  writer,  Judge  J.  Clark  Hare,  himself  a  Repub- 
lican in  politics,  in  his  recent  work  on  American  Constitutional 
Law  p.  747,  says :  "  When  the  South  was  prostrated  by  the 
Rebellion,  the  dominant  party  resolved  on  measures  that 
would  tend  to  keep  them  in  power  and  might  be  necessary  for 
the  protection  of  the  colored  race." 

The  author,  pursuing,  as  he  declares  in  his  preface,  "juris- 
prudence with  an  eye  single  to  truth,"  here  affirms  that  the 
controlling  motive  of  Congress  in  reconstructing  the  states  and 
the  constitution  was  partisan  ;  with  as  much  confidence  as  if  his 
statement  were  based  on  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

ANDREW   JOHNSON   AND   RESTORATION. 

Congress  adjourned  March  4th,  1865,  not  to  convene  again 
untd  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless  called  to  meet  in 
extra  session. 

Johnson  was  inaugurated  President  on  the  14th  of  April, 
1865,  just  as  the  Confederacy  fell.  As  he  intended  to  carry 
on  the  work  of  restoration  upon  the  lines  laid  down  by  his 
great  predecessor,  he  needed  no  aid  from  Congress ;  and  so  it 
seemed  to  be  a  happy  contingency  that  it  was  not  in  session. 
In  his  Cabmet  were  Seward,  McCulloch,  Stanton,   Welles 


EECONSTEUCTION  AT  WASHINGTON.  9 

Dennison,  Harlan  and  Speed, — the  same  strong  men  gathered 
around  his  council  board  by  the  late  President,  and  all  still 
in  favor  of  the  Lincoln  plan  of  restoration. 

The  sudden  collapse  of  the  Confederacy  was  remarkable. 
Within  forty  days  from  the  date  when  General  Johnston  gave 
up  his  sword  there  was  not  a  single  Confederate  soldier  in 
arms.  The  surrender  was  complete.  Submission  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  United  States  was  everywhere  absolute.  Courts 
were  established  ;  the  postal  service  rehabilitated  ;  tax  collect- 
ors and  tax  assessors  went  about  their  business. 

On  the  29th  of  May,  President  Johnson  issued  the  procla- 
mation that  had  been  approved  by  President  Lincoln  for  the 
restoration  of  civil  government  of  North  Carolina.  William  H. 
Holden  was  appointed  provisional  governor,  with  authority  to 
call  a  convention  to  frame  a  constitution  of  government  for 
the  State.  Proclamations,  similar  to  that  for  North  Carolina, 
followed  for  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Florida  and 
other  States. 

The  people  of  the  late  Confederate  States  accepted  with 
readiness  the  Presidential  policy  of  reconstruction.  In  fact,  the 
unanimity  with  which  those  who  had  waged  such  a  desperate 
conflict  against  the  Union  now  took  again  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was  a  phenom- 
enon that  startled  the  Republican  politicians  ;  and  it  must  have 
inspired  distrust  in  the  minds  of  many  honest  Northern  voters. 

But  it  was  all  in  the  utmost  good  faith ;  and  it  was  not 
strange. 

From  the  days  when  the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question' 
began  to  divide  the  country  into  two  sections,  the  South  alwoys 
talked  more  about  and  cared  more  for  the  Constitution,  which! 
it  looked  to  for  the  protection  of  its  property  rights  in  slaves,! 
than  did  the  North,  which  relied  on  its  majority  of  voters  to 
maintain  whatever  views  of  public  policy  it  might  happen  to 
entertain.  Thus  it  came  about  that  the  South  was  as  devoted 
to  the  Constitution  as  was  the  North  uncompromising  for  the 
Union.  When,  therefore,  the  Southern  states  had  seceded,  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  became  the  constitution  of 
the  Confederate  States,  with  such  changes  only  as  would  em- 
phasize and  make  still  clearer  the  reserved  powers  of  the  states. 


IQ  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

It  is  simply  history  to  say,  that  the  people  of  the  Confederate 
States  looked  upon  themselves,  during  the  late  war,  as  fighting 
to  perpetuate  the  Constitution  of  their  fathers.  Slavery  they 
deemed  merely  an  incident.  Secession  they  regarded  simply 
as  a  method  by  which  they  could  place  themselves  in  position 
to  forever  maintain  inviolate  the  Constitution  of  1789.  Noth- 
ing but  the  spirit  of  liberty,  however  mistaken  it  may  have 
been,  could  have  animated  slave-holder  and  non-slave-holder 
to  make  side  by  side  that  terrible  struggle  of  four  years  for 
the  Confederacy,  just  as  similar  noble  impulses  animated  the 
people  of  the  Northern  States  to  pour  out  so  much  of  their 
blood  and  treasure  for  the  Union. 

When  the  Confederacy  had  died,  and  independence  was  no 
longer  possible,  slavery,  it  was  apparent,  had  gone  down  forever. 
Secession,  too,  was  dead.  These  two  obstacles  removed,  the 
pathway  to  progress  in  the  Union  seemed  open,  and  Southern 
people  were  invited  now  by  Johnson,  as  they  had  been  by 
Lincoln,  to  come  back  and  claim  the  protection  of  the  Con- 
stitution under  which  they  were  born.  They  had  never,  in 
fact,  lived  under  any  other. 

And  now  it  is  quite  clear  how  the  Southern  people  could  and 
did  attempt  to  resume  their  places  in  the  Union  with  far 
greater  unanimity  than  prevailed  among  them  when  attempt- 
ing to  go  out. 

Shortly  after  the  assembling  of  Congress  in  December,  1865, 
the  President  was  able  to  report  that  the  people  of  North 
Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Lou- 
isiana, Arkansas  and  Tennessee  had  reorganized  their  State 
governments.  The  Thirteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  abolishing  slavery,  had  been  adopted 
by  twenty-seven  states,  the  requisite  three- fourths  of  the  whole 
number,  the  reconstructed  government  of  five  of  the  seceding 
states  having  been  counted  as  part  of  the  twenty-seven. 

The  conventions  of  the  seceding  states  had  all  repealed  or 
declared  null  and  void  the  ordinances  of  secession.  Every 
office  in  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Alabama,  Georgia 
and  Louisiana,  legislative,  executive  and  judicial,  was  filled 
either  by  an  original  Union  man  or  by  one  who,  having  been 
pardoned,  had  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States. 


EECONSTKUCTION  AT  WASHINGTON.  H 

The  laws  were  in  full  operation.  Senators  and  Represen- 
tatives from  most  of  these  states  were  already  in  Washington 
asking  to  be  seated  in  Congress,  and  the  work  of  restoration, 
so  far  as  it  lay  in  the  hands  of  the  people  of  these  states,  was 
completed.  The  report  to  the  President  made  by  General 
Grant,  December  18th,  1865,  was  a  fair  statement  of  the  con- 
dition at  that  time  of  public  sentiment  in  the  South.  "  I  am 
satisfied  the  mass  of  thinking  men  in  the  South  accept  the 
present  situation  of  affairs  in  good  faith.  The  questions  which 
have  hitherto  divided  the  sentiment  of  the  people  of  the  two 
sections,  slavery  and  state  rights,  or  the  right  of  the  State  to 
secede  from  the  Union,  they  regard  as  having  been  settled  for- 
ever by  the  highest  tribunal,  that  of  arms,  that  man  can  resort 
to.  I  was  pleased  to  learn  from  the  leading  men  whom  I  met 
that  they  not  only  accepted  the  decision  arrived  at  as  final,  but 
now  the  smoke  of  battle  has  cleared  away  and  time  has  been 
given  for  reflection,  that  the  decision  has  been  a  fortunate  one 
for  the  whole  country,  they  receiving  like  benefits  from  it  with 
those  who  opposed  them  in  the  field  and  in  the  council.^' 

But  by  the  new  State  Constitutions,  which  the  Southern 
people  had  made  for  themselves,  suffrage  was  confined  to  white 
men,  just  as  it  was  in  Connecticut,  Ohio,  Michigan  and  other 
Northern  States  ;  and,  too,  the  Senators  and  Representatives- 
elect  now  asking  to  represent  these  late  Confederate  States 
were  mostly  Democrats. 

This  was  the  situation  when  Con2:ress  convened  in  Decem- 
ber,  1865.  That  body  was  largely  Republican  in  both  branches. 
Would  this  Republican  Congress  admit  these  Democratic 
States  ?  If  not,  upon  what  ground  would  the  refusal  be  based  ? 

CONGRESS — 1865-66 — POLITICS. 

The  first  session  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress  began  De- 
cember 4, 1865.  The  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
Mr.  Schuyler  Colfax,  upon  accepting  the  office,  said : 

''  The  Thirty-eighth  Congress  closed  its  constitutional 
existence  with  the  storm-cloud  of  war  still  hovering  over  us  ; 
and  after  nine  months'  absence,  Congress  resumes  its  legisla- 
tive authority  in  these  council  halls,  rejoicing  that  from  shore 
to  shore  in  our  land  there  is  peace." 


12  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

The  people  of  the  Southern  states  had  reconstructed  their 
Governments  upon  the  idea  that  peace  had  come;  but  this  very 
same  House  of  Representatives,  which  now  began  with  this 
declaration  of  its  Speaker,  that  peace  reigned  supreme,  was  to 
make  war  upon  the  state  governments  of  the  South,  justify- 
ing itself  upon  the  theory  that  the  war  was  not  over.  The 
Presidential  plan  was  to  be  disregarded.  Congress,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Mr.  Thad.  Stevens,  henceforth  its  accepted  leader,  was 
to  "  take  no  account  of  the  aggregation  of  white- washed  rebels 
who,  without  any  legal  authority,  have  assembled  in  the  capi- 
tals of  the  late  rebel  States  and  simulated  legislative  bodies." 

However  completely  this  generation  may  have  forgotten 
that  Johnson's  policy  was  Lincoln's,  that  Congress  knew  it 
well,  for  early  in  that  session  Mr.  Sherman  said  in  debate  : 

"  When  Mr.  Johnson  came  into  power  he  found  the  rebel- 
lion substantially  subdued.  What  did  he  do  ?  His  first  act 
was  to  retain  in  his  confidence  and  in  his  councils  every  mem- 
ber of  the  Cabinet  of  Abraham  Lincoln  ;  and,  so  far  as  we 
know,  every  measure  adopted  by  Andrew  Johnson  has  had 
the  approval  and  sanction   of  that   Cabinet." 

There  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  if  Mr.  Lincoln  had  lived, 
he  would,  during  1865,  have  progressed  at  least  as  rapidly 
with  his  plan  of  reconstruction  as  did  President  Johnson  ; 
he  was  always  anxious  to  put  an  end  to  military  control,  and 
the  successful  ending  of  the  war  would  have  left  him  the  most 
popular  man  this  country  has  ever  seen  since  Washington. 
Yet  even  Mr.  Lincoln  could  not  have  avoided  a  struggle 
with  Congress.* 

In  December,  1865,  Republican  leaders  felt  that  a  crisis  in 
the  history  of  their  party  had  come ;  and  many  of  them  were 
ready  to  go  to  any  extreme.  Mr.  Stevens  said  on  the  floor  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  that  if  the  late  Confederate 
States  were  admitted  to  representation  in  Congress  under  the 
Presidential  plan,  without  any  changes  in  the  basis  of  repre- 
sentation, these  states,  with  the  Democrats    '^  that  would  be 

*Mr.  Stanton,  near  the  close  of  his  life,  looking  back  over  those  exciting 
times,  declared  that  "  If  Mr.  Lincoln  had  lived,  he  would  have  had  a  hard 
time  with  his  party,  as  he  would  have  been  at  odds  with  it  on  Kecon- 
BiTuctlonJ'—McCuUoch,  "  3Ien  and  Measures." 


KECONSTKUCTION  AT  WASHINGTON.  I3 

elected  in  the  best  of  times  at  the  North/'  would  control  the 
country  ;  and  he  said,  on  the  14th  December,  1865  : 

''  According  to  my  judgment,  they  (the  insurrectionary 
states)  ought  never  to  be  recognized  as  capable  of  acting  in  the 
Union  or  of  being  counted  as  valid  states  until  the  Constitu- 
tion shall  have  been  so  amended  as  to  make  it  what  its  mak- 
ers intended ;  and  so  as  to  secure  ^perpetual  ascendency  to  the 
party  of  the  Unions 

Mr.  Stevens  had  two  plans  :  first,  to  reduce  the  .representa- 
tion to  which  the  late  slave-holding  states  were  entitled  under 
the  Constitution  ;  secondly,  to  enfranchise  blacks  and  dis- 
franchise whites. 

But  the  mind  of  the  Northern  voter  was  not  yet  ready  for 
negro  suffrage.  Pennsylv^ania,  Ohio  and  other  States  still 
denied  it.  Connecticut,  in  1865,  gave  a  majority  against  it  of 
6,272.  Even  in  October,  1867,  Ohio  gave  a  constitutional 
majority  against  colored  suffrage  of  50,629 ;  and  so  late  as 
November,  1867,  Kansas  was  against  negro  suffrage  by  a 
majority  of  8,938  ;  while  Minnesota  adhered  to  the  white 
basis  by  a  majority  of  1,298.  It  was  perfectly  clear  that  the 
people  were  not  now,  in  the  winter  of  1865-66,  prepared  to 
endorse  the  extreme  measures  that  were  being  mooted  at 
Washington. 

What  Congress  would  do  was  an  interesting  problem.  Mr. 
Thad.  Stevens,  however,  seems  never  to  have  doubted  how  it 
would  be  solved.  He  predicted  that  public  sentiment,  w^ithin 
less  than  two  years,  would  come  up  to  his  position.  But  to 
the  accomplishment  of  such  a  result  time  and  work  w^ere 
necessary.  As  a  first  step,  on  the  4th  of  December,  1865, 
the  very  day  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress  was  organized,  Mr. 
Stevens  introduced  and  passed  in  the  House,  by  a  party  vote 
of  133  to  36,  under  the  previous  question,  without  debate,  a 
resolution  to  provide  for  a  joint  committeee  of  fifteen  to  report 
on  the  condition  of  '^  the  states  which  formed  the  so-called 
Confederate  States  of  America."  The  Senate  assented  at 
once  to  the  formation  of  the  joint  committee,  and  afterwards, 
on  the  23d  of  February,  1866,  finally  agreed  to  a  concurrent 
resolution,  which  had  been  the  second  proposition  of  Mr. 
Stevens'  original  resolution,  that  neither  House  should  admit 


l^  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

any  member  from  the  late  insurrectionary  states  until  the 
report  of  the  joint  committee,  on  reconstruction,  thereafter  to 
be  made,  should  be  finally  acted  on. 

Thus  it  was  settled,  that  the  people  most  vitally  interested 
in  the  two  great  problems,  the  basis  of  representation  and  the 
qualification  of  voters,  were  to  have  no  part,  in  Congress,  at 
least,  in  their  solution.  But  more  than  that,  here  was  time 
gained  within  which  the  effort  could  be  made  to  bring  the 
Northern  mind  up  to  Mr.  Stevens'  position. 

The  joint  resolution  refusing  admittance  to  Southern  Repre- 
sentatives and  Senators  was  not  passed  without  strenuous  oppo- 
sition. It  was  an  open  declaration  of  war  upon  the  Presiden- 
tial plan.  Mr.  Raymond,  of  New  York,  a  distinguished 
Republican,  made  a  great  speech  in  defence  of  the  President's 
policy.  Mr.  Shellabarger,  of  Ohio,  to  break  the  force  of  Mr. 
Raymond's  argument,  talked  thus  : 

"They  framed  iniquity  and  universal  murder  into  law 
.  .  .  .  Their  pirates  burned  your  unarmed  commerce 
upon  every  sea.  They  carved  the  bones  of  your  dead 
heroes  into  ornaments,  and  drank  from  goblets  made  out  of 
their  skulls.  They  poisoned  your  fountains,  put  mines  under 
your  soldiers'  prisons  ;  organized  bands  whose  leaders  were 
concealed  in  your  homes ;  and  commissions  ordered  the  torch 
and  yellow  fever  to  be  carried  to  your  cities,  and  to  your 
women  and  children.  They  planned  one  universal  bonfire 
of  the  North  from  Lake  Ontario  to  the  Missouri,"  etc.,  etc. 

The  Honorable  Henry  Wilson,  in  his  *^  History  of  Recon- 
struction," quotes  this  and  many  other  similar  passionate  ap- 
peals, intending  them,  of  course,  as  fair  specimens  of  the  argu- 
ments which  brought  about  there-construction  of  Federal  and 
state  Constitutions. 

Early  in  this  session  Congress  sent  to  the  President  a  civil 
rights  bill  conferring  many  rights,  not  including  suffrage, 
however,  upon  emancipated  slaves.  This  Mr.  Johnson  vetoed 
on  the  ground  that  it  was  unconstitutional ;  and,  accordino- 
to  decisions  since  made  by  the  Supreme  Court,  it  was.  The 
veto  of  this  bill  greatly  aggravated  the  quarrel,  which  was 
already  open  and  bitter  between  the  President  and  Congress. 
It   also  lost  Mr.  Johnson   the  support  of  Messrs.  Dennison^ 


/ 


EECONSTRUCTION  AT  WASHINGTON.  15 

Harlan  and  Speed,  who  resigned  from  the  Cabinet.  Mr. 
Stanton,  too,  became  an  avowed  enemy  of  the  President  and 
his  policy.  Bnt  he  did  not  resign.  He  was  advised  by  Mr. 
Sumner  and  others  to  "  stick  ;  ^^  and  he  remained  in  the  Cabi- 
net as  an  obstructionist.  This  was  utterly  without  precedent, 
and  serves  well  to  illustrate  the  height  to  which  party  passion 
had  risen.  Another  reason  for  the  break  in  the  Cabinet,  in 
all  probability,  was  that  Southern  Democrats  very  naturally 
were  supporting  President  Johnson's  policy.  Senator  Wil- 
son's "  History  of  Reconstruction  "  is  full  of  eloquent  in- 
vectives launched  in  the  House  and  Senate  at  Andrew  Johnson 
because  he  was  supported  by  Democrats,  "  rebels,''  "  cojiper- 
heads,"  "  traitors,"  "  importers  of  poisoned  clothing,"  etc.,  etc. 

The  memorable  words  of  Mr.  Lincoln  in  his  last  annual 
message  were  :  ^'  The  war  will  cease  on  the  part  of  the  Govern- 
ment whenever  it  shall  have  ceased  on  the  part  of  those  who 
began  it."  But  Mr.  Lincoln  had  passed  away  and  his  words 
had  lost  their  power.  Mr.  Blaine,  in  his  "  Twenty  Years," 
even  mentions  it  as  a  cause  of  offence  that  those,  who  were  in 
arms  against  the  Government  when  Congress  adjourned  in 
March,  1865,  were,  some  of  them,  at  the  hotels  in  Washing- 
ton, demanding  to  be  admitted  to  seats  in  the  Congress  which 
met  in  December.  The  inflammatory  debates  in  the  first 
session  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress  were  preliminary  to  the 
canvass  for  members  of  Congress  to  be  elected  in  the  autumn 
of  1866.  No  factor  in  those  elections  proved  more  potential 
than  the  rejection  by  Southern  Legislatures  of  the  pending 
Fourteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  The  clauses  on  which  its  acceptance  or  rejection 
turned  in  these  assemblies  were :  Section  II.,  which  appor- 
tioned Representatives  in  Congress  upon  the  basis  of  the  vot- 
ing population  ;  and  Section  III.,  which  provided  that  no  per- 
son should  hold  office  under  the  United  States  who,  having 
taken  an  oath  as  a  Federal  or  state  officer  to  support  the  Consti- 
tution, had  subsequently  engaged  in  the  war  against  the  Union. 

It  was  claimed  bv  the  friends  of  the  Amendment  to  be 
especially  unfiir  that  the  South  should  have  representation  for 
its  freed  men  and  not  give  them  the  ballot.  The  right,  how- 
ever, of  a  State  to  have  representation  for  all  its  free  inhabit- 


jg  WHY  THE  SOLI-D  SOUTH? 

ants,  whether  voters  or  not,  was  secured  by  the  Constitution, 
and 'that  instrument  even  allowed  three-fifths  representation 
for  slaves.  New  York,  Ohio  and  other  states  denied  the 
ballot  to  free  negroes;  some  states  excluded  by  property 
qualifications  and  others  by  educational  tests,  yet  all  enjoyed 
representation  for  all  their  peoples. 

The  reply  to  this  was  that  the  Constitution  ought  to  be 
amended  because  the  South  would  now  have,  if  negroes  were 
denied  the  ballot,  a  larger  proportion  of  non-voters  than  the 
North.  Southern  people  were  slow  to  see  that  this  was  good 
reason  for  change  in  the  Constitution,  especially  as  they  be- 
lieved they  were  already  entitled  to  representation,  and  con- 
ceived that  they  ought  to  have  a  voice  in  proposing  as  well  as 
in  the  ratification  of  amendments.  Five  of  the  restored  states 
had  already  ratified  the  Thirteenth  Amendment,  and  such 
ratification  had  been  counted  valid.  If  they  were  states,  they 
were  certainly  entitled  to  representation.     So  they  claimed. 

It  was  perhaps  imprudent  for  Southern  people  at  that  time 
to  undertake  to  chop  logic  with  their  conquerors,  or  indeed  to 
claim  any  rights  at  all — as  the  net  results  of  their  insistence 
were,  that  they  were  called  "  impudent  claimants  '^  by  the 
Kepublican  Convention  at  Pittsburgh,  and  indeed  everywhere 
in  the  Republican  press. 

The  insuperable  objection,  however,  to  the  ratification  of 
the  Fourteenth  Amendment  was  to  be  found  in  the  clause 
which  required  the  people  of  the  late  Confederate  States  to 
disfranchise  their  own  leaders,  to  brand  with  dishonor  those 
who  had  led  them  in  peace  and  in  war. 

The  rejection  of  this  amendment  at  the  South  greatly 
strengthened  the  Republican  position ;  because  the  North, 
looking  at  it  from  a  different  stand-point,  thought  the  proposi- 
tion a  fair  one.  If  any  among  those  who  proposed  the  amend- 
ment intended  it  should  be  rejected,  it  was  shrewdly  devised  ; 
if  it  was  not  intended  to  procure  its  own  rejection,  then  it  was 
clumsily  contrived. 

THE   FREEDMEN's   BUREAU. 

Even  before  the  close  of  the  war  public  sentiment  had 
demanded  some  provision  for  the  protection  of  the  liberated 


RECONSTKUCTION  AT  WASHINGTON.  17 

slaves,  wlio  everywhere  came  flocking  into  tne  Union  lines. 
The  result  was  the  establishment  by  law,  March  3d,  1865,  of 
a  Freedmen's  Bureau,  which  was  speedily  extended,  after 
hostilities  had  ceased,  into  all  the  late  Confederate  States. 
The  law  made  the  agents  of  this  Bureau  guardians  of 
freedmen,  with  power  to  make  their  contracts,  settle  their 
disputes  with  employers  and  care  for  them  generally. 
The  position  of  Bureau  agent  was  one  of  power  and  respon- 
sibility, capable  of  being  used  beneficently,  and  sometimes, 
no  doubt,  it  was ;  but  these  officials  were  subjected  to  great 
temptation. 

Many  people,  who  believed  that  the  newly  emancipated 
slave  needed  a  guardian  to  take  care  of  him,  believed  also 
that,  if  he  only  had  the  ballot,  he  could  take  care  of  himself 
and  the  country,  too.  In  fact,  the  sentiment  in  favor  of  uni- 
versal suffrage  was  already  strong,  even  in  the  spring  of  1865  ; 
and  it  was  natural  for  every  Bureau  agent,  who  might  have 
a  turn  for  politics,  to  conclude  that,  with  the  Bureau^s  help, 
Mr.  Stevens  and  his  friends  might  eventually  succeed  in  giving 
the  negro  the  ballot.  The  Bureau  agent  was  ^^  the  next  friend  " 
of  the  negro.  With  negro  suffrage,  this  official's  fortune  was 
made.  Without  it,  of  course,  this  stranger  had  no  hope  of 
office  in  the  South.  It  was  not  therefore  to  his  interest,  if 
he  had  political  aspirations,  that  there  should  be  peace  between 
the  races. 

From  conscientious  men,  connected  with  this  Bureau, 
General  Grant  obtained  the  information  upon  which  he  based 
the  opinion,  given  to  the  President  in  the  report  already 
quoted  from,  that  ''Hhe  belief  widely  spread  among  the  freed- 
men of  the  Southern  states  that  the  lands  of  their  former  owners 
will,  at  least  in  part,  be  divided  among  them,  has  come  from  the 
agents  of  this  Bureau.  This  belief  is  seriously  interfering 
with  the  willingness  of  the  freedmen  to  make  contracts  for  the 
coming  yearj^  And  he  further  said  :  ^'  Many,  perhaps  the 
majority,  of  the  agents  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  advise  the 
freedmen  that  by  their  own  industry  they  must  expect  to  live. 
...  In  some  instances,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  the  freedman^s 
mind  does  not  seem  to  be  disabused  of  the  idea  that  he  has  a 
right  to  live  without  care  or  provision  for  the  future.  The 
2 


13  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

effect  of  the  belief  in  the  division  of  lands  is  idleness  and  accumu- 
iation  in  camps,  towns  and  cities!^ 

The  first  lesson  in  the  horn-book  of  liberty  for  the  freed- 
man  obviously  was,  that  in  the  sweat  of  his  face  he  must  earn 
his  bread — a  law  unto  all  men  since  the  days  of  Adam.  It  is 
a  sad  commentary  on  the  workings  of  the  Bureau,  that  the 
best  thing  General  Grant  could  say  of  its  agents  w^as,  that 
"  many,  and  perhaps  a  majority  of  them,"  did  so  advise.  If 
these  officials  were  really  responsible,  as  General  Grant  be- 
lieved, for  the  demoralized  labor  condition  at  the  South — and 
their  power  over  the  freedmen  is  beyond  all  question — then 
they  were,  in  fact,  organizing  chaos  where  their  mission  was 
peace  and  good  order. 

Nearly  every  one  of  these  agents,  who  remained  South 
after  reconstruction,  was  a  candidate  for  office ;  and  many 
actually  became  Governors,  Judges,  Legislators,  Congressmen, 
Postmasters,  Revenue  officers,  etc. 

Such  a  situation  as  confronted  Southern  Legislatures  in  the 
fall  and  early  winter  of  1865  was  never  before  witnessed 
in  America.  Prior  to  1861  the  laws  to  compel  people  to  in- 
dustrious habits  were  not  generally  so  stringent  in  the  South  as 
in  the  North.  This  resulted  partly  from  slavery  and  partly 
from  the  easy  conditions  of  life  in  a  mild  climate.  There 
were  no  laws  that  met  the  new  situation.  New  and  stringent 
statutes  were  passed  to  prevent  vagrancy  and  idleness.  There 
is  not  space  here  to  discuss  these  laws.  They  will  be  treated 
of  in  a  subsequent  chapter  and  compared  with  statutes  then  in 
force  in  Northern  states.  Suffice  it  to  say  now,  they  did  not 
merit  the  odium  visited  upon  them  by  many  honest  Northern 
voters,  who,  not  understanding  the  situation,  were  led  to  be- 
lieve them  nothing;  short  of  an  effi)rt  to  re-enslave  the  ne^ro, 
when  their  purpose  was  sun  ply  to  counteract  the  teachings 
that  had  demoralized  the  freedman  and  compel  him  to  in- 
dustrious habits. 

THE   COMMITTEE   OF   FIFTEEN. 

The  passage  of  the  concurrent  resolution  in  December 
1865,  to  inquire  into  the  condition  of  the   late   Confederate 


KECONSTRUCTION  AT  WASHINGTON.  19 

States  meant  open,  hospitality ^o  the  Presidential  plan.  Hav- 
ing declared  war,  the  dominant  party  of  course  exercised 
great  care  in  selecting  members  to  serve  on  the  committee 
which  was  to  make  this  inquiry.  Mr.  Blaine  (Vol.  II.,  p. 
127)  says  : 

"  It  was  foreseen  that  in  an  especial  degree  the  fortunes  of 
the  Republican  party  would  be  in  the  keeping  of  the  fifteen 
men  who  might  be  chosen.'^  Speaker  Colfax  and  the  ap- 
pointing power  in  the  Senate  put  on  the  committee  twelve 
Republicans  and  only  three  Democrats,  one  from- the  Senate 
and  two  from  the  House. 

The  field  from  which  testimony  was  to  be  drawn  was  the  unre- 
presented South.  On  the  sub-committee  which  took  testimony 
as  to  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Ala- 
bama, Mississippi  and  Arkansas,  there  was  not  a  Democrat  to 
call  or  to  question  a  witness.  The  only  hope  of  fair  play  lay 
in  the  magnanimity  or  sense  of  justice  of  men  who  had  already 
voted  to  refuse  admission  to  the  Southern  members  and  who 
were  placed  upon  the  committee  with  the  expectation,  as  Mr. 
Blaine  has  indicated,  that  they  would  take  care  of  the  Re- 
publican party.  There  is  not  space  here  to  discuss  the 
evidence  of  the  witnesses,  who  chose  or  were  chosen  to  come 
before  these  gentlemen.  It  consists  of  hundreds  of  pages  of 
speculative  testimony,  hearsay,  etc. 

The  crimes  committed,  in  the  most  peaceful  times,  within 
eighteen  consecutive  mouths,  among  any  population  of  eight 
millions,  would,  if  industriously  arrayed,  make  a  fearful 
record.  To  make  that  arraignment  of  the  late  Confederate 
States  was  the  task  to  which  this  able  committee  addressed 
itself  in  1866. 

The  situation  in  these  states  w^as  peculiar.  AVhen  the  sur- 
viving soldiers  returned  from  the  field,  around  their  desolated 
homes  they  found  four  millions  of  slaves  suddenly  man- 
umitted. The  returning  soldiers  were  themselves  more  or  less 
affected  by  that  demoralization  which  is  an  unfailing  con- 
sequence of  protracted  war.  The  negroes  were  demoralized 
by  their  newly-found  freedom.  They  turned,  for  the  most 
part,  a  deaf  ear  to  the  advice  of  their  old  masters  and  listened 
with  avidity  to  the  tales  that  were  bruited  about,  said  to  have 


20 


WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 


come  from  the  stranger  friends  who  had  freed  them,  to  the 
effect  that  the  lands  of  their  rebel  masters  were  to  be  confis- 
cated and  divided  among  them.  It  is  impossible  that,  under 
such  circumstances,  however  earnestly  all  good  citizens  might 
strive  for  the  general  good,  there  should  not  have  been  fric- 
tion between  the  races.  Yet,  notwithstanding  the  extraordi- 
nary and  unprecedented  conditions  there  was,  to  General 
Grant,  nothing,  as  his  report  already  quoted  shows,  in  the 
situation  there  in  the  fall  of  1865,  that  was  not  creditable  to 
the  masses  of  the  people.  General  Grant  was  not  in  politics. 
The  gentlemen  of  the  committee  of  fifteen  were ;  and  a  few 
words  as  to  the  treatment  of  one  state,  as  a  sample,  will  suffice 
to  show  that  the  methods  employed  were  such  as  to  allow  no 
rational  expectation  of  reaching  correct  conclusions.  As  to 
the  condition  in  Alabama  only  five  persons,  who  claimed  to  be 
citizens,  were  examined.  These  were  all  Republican  politi- 
cians. The  testimony  of  each  was  bitterly  partisan  ;  under 
the  government  of  the  state  as  it  then  existed,  no  one  of  these 
witnesses  could  hope  for  official  preferment.  In  his  testi- 
mony each  was  striving  for  the  overthrow  of  his  existing  state 
government,  and  the  setting  up  of  some  such  institutions  as 
followed  under  Congressional  reconstruction.  AVhen  this  re- 
construction had  finally  taken  place,  the  first  of  these  five 
witnesses  became  Governor  of  his  state ;  the  second  became 
a  Senator  in  Congress  ;  the  third  secured  a  life  position  in 
one  of  the  departments  at  Washington ;  the  fourth  became  a 
circuit  judge  in  Alabama,  and  the  fifth  a  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia — all  as  Republicans. 
There  was  no  Democrat  in  the  sub  committee,  which  examined 
these  gentlemen,  to  cross-examine  them  ;  and  not  a  citizen  of 
Alabama  w^as  called  before  that  sub-committee  to  answer  or 
explain  their  evidence.  Of  the  report  of  this  committee, 
based  upon  evidence  taken  by  such  methods,  Mr.  Blaine  per- 
mits himself  to  say  (Vol.  II.  p.  9)  :  "That  report  is  to  be 
taken  as  an  absolutely  truthful  picture  of  the  Southern  states 
at  that  time." 

The  first  session  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress  now  came  to 
a  close.  Besides  the  passage,  over  the  President's  objections, 
of  a  still  more  radical  Freedmen's  Bureau  Bill  than  that  de- 


EECONSTRUCTION  AT  WASmNGTON.  21 

feated  by  his  first  veto,  it  had  accomplished  little  else  than  to 
drive  most  of  the  moderate  Republicans  into  the  ranks  of  the 
extremists.  On  adjournment,  members  went  into  the  can- 
vass at  home.  The  late  Confederate  States  were  held  out  of 
the  Union ;  and  their  status  was  to  be  determined  by  elec- 
tions at  the  North.  The  rejection  of  the  Fourteenth  Amend- 
ment, the  report  of  the  joint  committee  of  fifteen,  the  testi- 
mony taken  by  that  committee,  the  evidence  furnished  by 
agents  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  the  vetoes  and  the  alleged 
treachery  to  the  Republican  party  of  Andrew  Johnson — these 
were  the  material  of  the  canvass.  Mr.  Johnson  had  adhered 
rigidly  to  Abraham  Lincoln's  theory  of  restoration.  That 
theory  the  Republicans  now  were  assailing  and  Johnson  was 
on  trial  as  an  apostate. 

CONGRESS,    1866-67. 

The  Republicans  came  back  to  the  last  session  of  the 
Thirty-ninth  Congress,  which  began  on  the  first  Monday  in 
December,  1866,  exulting  in  a  great  victory.  Never  since  the 
beginning  of  the  Government  had  there  been  such  a  campaign 
during  an  ^'  off  year."  Though  no  President  was  to  be 
elected,  four  national  conventions  had  been  held ;  the  air  was 
filled  with  inflammatory  speeches  and  the  dying  embeis  of 
the  passions  engendered  by  the  civil  war  were  fanned  into 
flames. 

The  result  of  the  election  was  a  majority,  in  the  Fortieth 
Congress,  of  31  for  the  Republicans  in  the  Senate  and  94  in 
the  House.  The  Republicans  were  greatly  elated.  Presi- 
dent Johnson,  who  was  still  ready  with  his  vetoes,  was  the 
only  obstacle  in  their  path.  It  was  proposed  to  remove  him 
by  impeachment.  As  ])ut  by  Mr.  Shuckers,  himself  a  Re- 
publican, in  his  life  of  C.  J.  Chase,  (p.  547)  the  Republican 
leaders  at  this  juncture  "felt  the  vast  importance  of  the 
Presidential  patronage;  many  of  them  felt,  too,  that  according 
to  the  maxim  that  to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils,  the  Re- 
publican party  was  rightfully  entitled  to  the  Federal  patron- 
age ;  and  they  determined  to  get  possession  of  it.  There  was 
but  one  method  and  that  was  by  impeachment  and  removal 
of  the  President/^ 


22  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

On  the  7th  of  January,  1867,  Mr.  Loan  offered  a  resohi- 
tion  that,  "  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  fruits  of  the 
victories  gained,"  impeachment  of  the  President  was  neces- 
sary. On  the  same  day  Mr.  Kelso,  also  '*  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  the  fruits  of  the  victories  gained,"  introduced  im- 
peachment resolutions.  Then  Mr.  Ashley  moved  and  carried 
resolutions  for  the  appo  ntment  of  a  committee  to  inquire  for 
grounds  on  which  the  President  could  be  impeached.  No 
proof  was  offered;  the  committee  was  to  hunt  for  proof.  Tlie 
President's  '^  bank  account  was  examined.  His  private  con- 
duct in  Washington  was  carefully  scrutinized.  Men  were 
employed  to  investigate  his  pul)lic  and  private  character  in 
Tennessee.  But  nothing  was  found  to  his  discredit." 
(McCulloch,  p.  394.)  Notwithstanding  the  futility  of  this 
effort,  in  one  form  or  another,  the  impeachment  program nie 
survived  until  the  next  winter,  when  President  Johnson  fur- 
nished an  excuse  in  the  removal  of  Mr.  Stanton  from  the 
Secretaryship  of  War,  and  the  impeachment  proceedings 
were  theu  pressed  to  a  conclusion." 

Id  is  now  well  understood  that  no  legal  grounds  for  the 
impeachment  existed  ;  and  even  at  that  day,  in  the  height  of 
party  passion,  there  were  seven  Pepublican  Senators,  the 
exact  number  necessary  to  save  the  President  who,  in  spite  of 
party  pressure,  voted  "  not  guilty  "  at  the  trial. 

The  excitement  prevailing  in  the  country  at  large,  at  the 
time  of  the  impeachment,  may  be  judged  of  by  the  following 
editorial  paragraph  from  the  Harrisburg  (Penna.)  State 
Guard :  "  Just  as  sure  as  we  believe  the  blood  of  xA.braham 
Lincoln  is  on  the  soul  of  Andrew  Johnson,  so  certain  are  we 
that  he  contemplates  drenching  the  country  once  more  in  the 
blood  of  civil  war." 

The  effort  to  impeach  the  President  was  not  allowed  to 
delay  the  programme  of  Congress.  Universal  suffrage  hav- 
ing been  decided  son,  obviously  the  first  step  was,  in  the 
language  of  Mr.  Henry  Wilson,  in  his  "  History  of  Reconstruc- 
tion," (p.  267)  "  the  extension  of  suffrage  to  the  colored  race  in 
the  District  of  Columbia,  both  as  a  right  and  an  example.'^ 
The  bill  to  this  effect  was  before  the  Senate.  Mr.  Buckalew, 
of  Pennsylvania,  presented    thus   the   grounds    upon    which 


KECONSTEUCTION  AT  WASHINGTON.  23 

Democrats  opposed  it :  '^  Our  ancestors  placed  suffrage  upon 
the  broad  common-sense  principle  that  it  should  be  lodged  in 
and  exercised  by  those  who  could  use  it  most  wisely  and  most 
safely  and  most  efficiently  to  serve  the  ends  for  which  Govern- 
ment was  instituted/'  and  ^^not  upon  any  abstract  or  transcend- 
ental notion  of  human  rights  which  ignored  the  existing  facts  of 
social  life."  And,  he  said ;  "  I  shall  not  vote  to  degrade 
suffrage.  I  shall  not  vote  to  pollute  and  corrupt  the  founda- 
tion of  political  power  in  this  country,  either  in  my  own  state 
or  in  any  other."  The  debate  took  a  wide  range.  It  was 
understood  that  the  late  Confederate  States  were  to  share  the 
fate  of  the  District.  One  question  was  whether  the  right  of 
suffrao:e  should  be  confined  to  those  who  could  read  and  write. 
Mr.  Sumner  stated  his  position  thus  :  "  Now  to  my  mind 
nothing  is  clearer  than  the  absolute  necessity  of  suffrage  for 
all  colored  persons  in  the  disorganized  states.  It  will  not  be 
enough  if  you  give  it  to  those  who  read  and  write ;  you  will 
not,  in  this  way,  acquire  the  voting  force  which  you  need 
there  for  the  protection  of  Unionists,  whether  white  or  black. 
Yoit  will  not  secure  the  new  allies,  who  are  essential  to  the 
national  cause.'' 

The  bill  granting  suffrage  passed,  without  qualification. 
On  January  7,  1867,  the  President  returned  it  with  his  objec- 
tions. Mr.  Sherman,  discussing  the  veto,  said  :  "  The 
President  says  this  is  not  the  place  for  this  experiment.  I 
say  it  is  the  place  of  all  others,  because,  if  the  negroes  here 
abuse  the  political  power  we  give  them,  we  can  withdraw  the 
privilege  at  any  moment." 

It  is  curious,  glancing  forward  a  few  years,  to  see  the  re- 
sult of  this  initial  experiment.  In  1871,  while  the  Republi- 
cans were  still  in  power  in  both  Houses,  a  law  was  passed 
allowing  the  District  of  Columbia  to  elect  its  own  Legislature 
and  Governor.  The  newly  enfranchised  voters,  who  were 
given  the  ballot  "  both  as  a  right  and  as  an  example,"  had 
thus  full  opportunity  to  show  their  capacity.  What  was 
occurring,  at  that  time,  in  the  Southern  states  was  always  a 
matter  of  partisan  dispute,  but  the  noon-day  sun  was  shining 
full  upon  the  Capital  District,  and  the  whole  country  saw 
that  the  political  power  conferred  was  being  '^  abused."     As 


24  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Senator  Sherman  had  indicated  it  might  be,  it  was,  in  1874, 
promptly  ''  withdrawn  "  by  a  law  which  took  away,  not  only 
from  the  black  man,  but  also  from  the  white  man,  the  right, 
which  the  latter  had  long  enjoyed,  of  voting  in  the  District  of 
Columbia.  The  new  law  provided  that  the  District  should 
be  governed  by  three  commissioners  appointed  by  the  Presi- 
dent. There  has  not  been  a  ballot  cast  in  the  District  since 
1874. 

Congress  had  the  right  to  enact  universal  suffrage  in  the 
District  of  Columbia.  It  has  exclusive  jurisdiction  there, 
under  the  Constitution  ;  but  that  instrument  might  have  been 
searched  in  vain,  in  1867,  for  any  power  over  the  elective 
franchise  in  the  states.  Mr.  Justice  Nelson,  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  on  the  circuit  had  decided,  in 
the  case  of  Eyjan,  that  South  Carolina  was  entitled,  after  her 
civil  government  had  been  restored  under  the  Presidential 
plan,  to  all  the  rights  of  a  state  in  the  Union.  In  a  carefully 
prepared  opinion  he  said :  ^*  A  new  Constitution  had  been 
formed,  a  Governor  and  Legislature  elected  under  it  and  the 
state  placed  iu  the  full  enjoyment  of  all  her  constitutional 
rights  and  privileges."  What  vyas  true  of  South  Carolina 
was  true  of  others  of  the  late  Confederate  States,  and  if  these 
states  were  states,  as  Mr.  Justice  Nelson  held,  then  Congress 
had  no  power  over  suffrage  within  their  borders. 

But  this  view  of  the  Constitution  did  not  suit  the  majority 
in  Congress.  The  victory  at  the  polls  in  the  fall  had  put 
them  abreast  with  Mr.  Stevens,  and  now,  in  the  winter  of 
'66-67,  they  claimed  full  power  over  the  late  insurrectionary 
states,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  for  Congress  to  decide  when 
the  war  had  ceased  ;  and  they  decided  it  was  not  yet  over, 
Mr.  Fessenden  put  it  thus  :  "■  Is  there  anything  more  cer- 
tain than  that  the  conqueror  has  a  right,  if  he  chooses,  to 
change  the  form  of  government,  that  he  has  the  right  to 
punish?"  etc.  On  the  15th  of  March,  1867,  Senator  Howard, 
of  ]\Iichigan,  said  :  ''  They  took  their  own  time  to  get  out  of 
the  Union  ;  let  them  take  their  own  time  to  return.  They 
took  their  own  time  to  initiate  the  war  ;  we  took  our  time  to 
close  the  war."  Mr.  Maynard,  of  Tennessee,  seemed  to  think 
it  necessary  to  show  that  the  continued  existence  of  the  war 


RECONSTRUCTION  AT  WASHINGTON.  25 

was  o^fact,  really  existing,  and  not  a  fiction  assumed  for  juris- 
dictional purposes,  and  he  said,  on  the  floor  of  the  House,  in 
February,  '67  :  ^'  It  is  not  quite  accurate  to  say  that  we  are 
at  peace ;  that  there  is  no  war.  What  peace  is  it?  The 
peace  of  Vesuvius  at  rest,  the  peace  of  the  slumbering 
volcano ;  the  fires  banked  up,  not  extinguished  ;  the  strength 
of  the  combatants  exhausted,  but  their  wrath  not  appeased  ;  no 
longer  able  to  continue  the  conflict,  but  awaiting  a  favorable 
opportunity  to  renew  it." 

The  facts  were  that  for  eighteen  months  prior  to  Mr.  May- 
nard's  speech  there  had  not  been,  nor  has  there  been,  during 
the  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  elapsing  since,  any  offer  or 
thought;  in  any  of  the  late  Confederate  States,  of  resistance 
to  the  General  Government ;  unless  one  may  denominate  such 
the  occasional  shooting,  by  a  moonshiner,  of  a  revenue 
officer;  and  this  has  occurred,  oftener  than  elsewhere,  in  the 
Republican  District  of  East  Tennessee,  represented,  the 
writer  believes,  by  Mr.  Maynard  when  he  claimed  to  be 
standing  on  a  volcano. 

Nevertheless  Congress  solemnly  adjudged,  for  itself,  that 
the  war  was  not  over;  and  so,  on  the  2d  of  March,  1867,  in 
order,  as  was  recited  in  the  preamble,  ^^to  protect  life  and 
property  in  the  rebel  states  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina, 
Georgia,  South  Carolina,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louis- 
iana, Florida,  Texas  and  Arkansas,"  '*  until  loyal  and 
republican  state  governments  can  be  legally  established,"  it 
was  enacted  that  those  states  should  be  divided  into  military 
districts  and  placed  under  military  rule.  On  the  23d,  of 
March,  1867,  a  supplemental  act  was  passed,  completing  the 
plan  of  reconstruction.*  These  acts  annulled  the  state  govern- 
ments then  in  operation  ;  enfranchised  the  negro ;  dis- 
franchised all  who  had  participated  in  the  war  against  the 
Union,  whether  pardoned  or  not,  if  they  had  previously  held 
any  executive,  legislative  or  judicial  office  under  the  state  or 
General  Government;  provided  for  the  calling  of  conven- 
tions, the  framing  and  adopting  of  state  constitutions,  the 
election  of  state  officers;  and,  in  fact,  pointed  out  all  the  ma- 
chinery necessary  to  put  into  operation  new  governments  upon 

*  See  these  acts  in  full.     (Appendix  A  and  B.) 


2Q  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

the  ruins  of  the  old.  Until  the  several  states  should  be  ad- 
mitted under  these  new  governments  into  the  Union,  the 
military  officers  in  command  were  to  have  absolute  power 
over  life,  liberty  and  property  ;  with  the  sole  exception,  that 
death  sentences  were  subject  to  approval  by  the  President. 
Several  ineffectual  efforts  were  made  to  get  the  question  of  the 
validity  of  these  laws  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States.  At  last  the  case  of  McCardle  from  Mississippi 
seemed  to  present  it  fairly.  McCardle,  basing  his  denial  of 
the  power  of  a  military  court  to  punish  him  on  the  ground 
that  the  reconstruction  laws  conferring  that  authority  were 
unconstitutional,  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court.  That  Court 
denied  a  motion  to  dismiss  the  appeal.  The  case  was  then 
argued  on  its  own  merits.  The  argument  was  concluded  on 
the  9th  March,  1868 ;  and  the  Court  took  the  case  under  ad- 
visement. While  it  was  being  so  held,  to  prevent  a  decision 
of  the  question,  a  bill  was  rushed  through  both  Houses  and 
finally  passed,  March  27th,  1867,  over  the  President's  veto, 
depriving  the  Court  of  jurisdiction  over  such  appeals.  This 
act,  of  course,  implied  the  fear  that  the  decision  would  be  ad- 
verse to  the  validity  of  the  laws,  as  a  favorable  decision  would 
have  been  of  immense  value  to  the  Republican  party.  Con- 
sidering all  the  circumstances,  it  is  indeed  natural  to  conclude 
that  this  hasty  action  was  based  upon  positive  information 
that  the  decision,  if  made,  would  declare  null  and  void  the 
reconstruction  laws. 

After  the  passage  of  these  laws  and  the  muzzling  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  the  careful  observer  of  existing  conditions, 
looking  at  the  many  adventurers  who  had  followed  in  the 
wake  of  the  army,  at  the  numerous  employees  of  the  Freed- 
men's  Bureau,  so  long  in  training  for  their  now  fast  ripening 
opportunities,  might  easily  have  predicted  that  the  legislation 
of  Congress  would  inevitably  result  in  what  Mr.  Lincoln  had 
feared  and  deplored  as  far  back  as  1862. 

Just  before  the  election  for  members  of  Congress,  which 
had  been  ordered  by  Governor  Shepley  in  Louisiana,  President 
Lincoln  addressed  him  a  letter,  November  21st,  1862,  saying 
that  only  "  respectable  citizens  of  Louisiana,"  voted  for  by 
"  other  respectable  citizens,"  were  wanted  as  representatives 


RECONSTRUCTION  AT  WASHINGTON.  27 

in  Washington.  "To  send/'  he  says,  ^'a  parcel  of  Northern 
men  here,  elected,  as  would  be  understood,  and  perhaps  justly 
so,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  would  be  disgraceful  and 
outrageous.'' 

But  party  spirit  had  now  gotten  far  away  from  that  lofty 
plane  on  which  Lincoln,  the  statesman,  had  stood. 

Even  Mr,  Garfield,  usually  generous  and  conservative,  had 
become  so  much  excited  as  to  say,  in  the  discussion  of  these 
measures  on  the  18th  February,  1867,  and  seemingly-  with 
exultation:  *'This  bill  sets  out  by  laying  its  hands  on  the 
rebel  governments  and  taking  the  very  breath  of  life  out  of 
them  ;  in  the  next  place  it  puts  the  bayonet  at  the  breast  of 
every  rebel  in  the  South ;  in  the  next  place  it  leaves  in  the 
hands  of  Congress  utterly  and  absolutely  the  work  of  recon- 
struction." In  other  words,  Mr.  Garfield  meant  that  if  the 
results  were  not  satisfactory.  Congress  might,  at  will,  modify 
or  change  its  plans. 

But  happily,  as  it  no  doubt  appeared,  there  was  only  need 
for  a  few  more  changes  in  the  law. 

The  reconstructors  builded  even  better  than  they  knew. 
The  results  exceeded  even  the  sanguine  prediction  of  Mr. 
Henry  Wilson,  who  said,  March  15,  1867,  on  the  floor  of 
the  Senate :  "  With  the  exercise  of  practical  judgment,  with 
good  organization,  scattering  the  great  truth  and  the  facts 
before  the  people,  a  majority  of  these  states  will,  within  a 
twelvemonth,  send  here  Senators  and  Representatives,  who 
think  as  we  think,  speak  as  we  speak  and  vote  as  we  vote, 
and  will  give  their  electoral  votes  for  whoever  we  nominate 
for  President  in  1868." 

In  a  little  more  than  a  "twelvemonth  "  from  the  date  of 
Mr.  W^ilson's  prediction — by  the  close  of  June  1868 — eight 
of  the  eleven  Confederate  states  were  rej)resented  in  both 
branches  of  Congress.  Of  these  Representatives  all  but  two 
were  Republican,  and  among  the  sixteen  Senators  there  was 
not  a  sino:le  Democrat. 

About  one-half  of  these  Senators  and  Representatives  were 
Northern  men,  elected  when,  as  Mr.  Garfield  said,  "the 
bayonet  was  at  the  breast  of  every  rebel  in  the  South," — a 
thing  Mr.  Lincoln  had  characterized  as  "  disgraceful  and  out- 
rageous." 


28  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

The  "  fruits  of  the  war''  were  being  gathered. 

Nothing  remained  but  to  perpetuate  existing  conditions. 

Not  only  did  these  newly  set  up  states  ratify  with  alacrity 
the  14th  Amendment,  but  by  the  30th  of  March,  1870,  with 
their  assistance,  the  15th  Amendment  was  also  declared  part 
of  the  Constitution.  Suffrage  had  been  granted  to  the  negro 
in  the  Southern  states  by  Congress.  This  Amendment  pro- 
vided that  ^'  the  right  to  vote  should  not  be  abridged  by  the 
United  States,  or  by  any  state  on  account  of  race,  color  or 
previous  condition  of  servitude.'' 

The  net  results  of  these  reconstruction  measures  were  that,  in 
the  41st  Congress,  beginning  March  5,  1871,  when  the  twelve 
Southern  states,  including  West  Virginia,  had  all  been 
gathered  into  the  fold,  they  were  represented  by  22  Repub- 
licans and  2  Democratic  Senators  and  48  Republican  and  13 
Democratic  Representatives. 

The  National  Republican  party  had,  in  the  language  of 
Mr.  Sumner,  secured  the  "  new  allies ''  it  needed  in  the  South. 

What  these  new  allies  accomplished  in  the  several  Southern 
states  will  appear  in  the  subsequent  chapters  of  this  book. 

Hilary  A.  Herbert 


CHAPTER  II. 

RECONSTRUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

"Those  men  in  the  South,  who  are  seeking  to  establish  a  black  man's 
party,  are  the  enemies  of  this  principle  of  equality ;  and  if  they  carry  out 
their  plans  they  will  strike  Republicanism  a  blow  far  heavier  than  the 
Democracy  can  deal." — Horace  Greeley  in  the  Tribune,  summer  of 
1867. 

I.    HOW   THE   REPUBLICANS   OBTAINED   CONTROL. 

IT  is  difficult  to  convey  any  proper  idea  of  the  wretchedness 
that  prevailed  in  Alabama  at  the  close  of  our  Civil  War. 
Thousands  who  were  totally  unaccustomed  to  labor  found 
themselves  in  extreme  poverty,  and  in  many  cases  father, 
husband,  brother  or  son — the  last  and  only  hope — was  sleep- 
ing in  a  soldier's  grave.  The  State  had  lost  of  her  citizens  by 
the  war,  including  the  disabled,  25,227,  more  than  20  per 
cent,  of  those  who  could  now  have  been  counted  upon  as 
bread-winners.  The  credit  system  had  been  universal,  but 
now  all  credit  was  gone ;  provision  crops  had  gone  to  feed 
both  Confederate  and  Federal  armies ;  plow  stock  had  most 
of  it  been  destroyed  or  carried  away ;  negro  laborers  were  de- 
moralized, and  flocked  into  towns  and  camps  around  Freed- 
men's  Bureau  Agencies ;  and,  to  fill  the  cup  to  the  brim,  a 
severe  drought  came  with  its  afflictions,  so  that  the  crops  of 
corn  and  small  grain  throughout  the  State  in  1865  were  not 
more  than  one-fifth  the  usual  amount.* 

These  results  of  the  Civil  War,  the  reader  can  readily  see, 
had  no  tendency  to  obliterate  the  political  feuds  that  had 
divided  the  people  of  the  State  in  days  gone  by. 

On  the  contrary,  there  was  a  manifest  disposition  to  seek, 
in  the  history  of  the  past,  for  the  causes  which  had  led  to  the 
evils  of  the  present.  Politics  in  Alabama  had  always  been 
more  or  less  exciting.     It  had  long  been  customary  for  the 

*  Governor  Parsons'  message  to  Legislature,  November,  1865. 

29 


30 


WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 


champions  of  opposing  parties  to  meet  in  joint  debate,  and  dis- 
cussion had  greatly  intensified  political  differences.  Whigs 
and  Democrats,  Union  men  and  Secessionists,  had  all  been 
thoroughly  in  earnest.  Even  the  terrible  four  years^  war  had 
not  brought  them  together;  and  in  the  summer  of  1865  it 
did  not  seem  possible  that  time  could  ever  set  in  motion  any 
forces  powerful  enough  to  compact  all  these  peo})le  into  one 
party.  Certainly  the  presence  at  that  time  of  Union  soldiers 
in  the  State  had  no  such  tendency.  It  was  expected  that,  as 
a  matter  of  course,  the  soldiers  would  be  removed  when  civil 
authority  should  be  restored,  and  the  relations  between  them 
and  the  ex-Confederates  were  very  kindly. 

But  there  was  little  sympathy  between  the  citizen  and  the 
agent  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau.  This  Bureau  agent,  for  the 
most  part,  had  not  been  a  soldier;  his  past  experience,  his 
present  avocation,  and  his  aspirations  for  the  future,  all  dif- 
fered him  from  the  veteran,  who  had  learned  on  the  battle- 
field to  respect  his  foe,  and  who  found,  in  his  own  approving 
conscience  and  the  gratitude  of  his  countrymen,  sufficient 
reward  for  the  services  he  had  rendered. 

Senator  Fessenden,  of  Maine,  very  accurately  described  the 
fnture  personnel  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  when  he  said,  in 
his  speech  opposing  the  bill  for  its  establishment :  "  You 
give  these  creatures  to  the  kind  protection  of  broken-down 
politicians,  and  adventurers,  and  decayed  ministers  of  the 
Gospel,  and  make  them  overseers  to  make  fortunes  out  of  the 
poor  creatures."  The  outline  portrait  he  drew  was  artistic, 
but  it  was  not  given  the  great  Senator  then  to  see  all  the  op- 
portunities that  were  to  open  before  these  future  friends  of 
the  colored  man.  They  w^re  not  to  be  content  w^ith  the  petty 
business  of  robbing  the  negro  ;  they  were  to  become  states- 
men, and  traffic  and  barter  away  the  credit  of  States.  Never 
were  men  more  prompt  to  realize  a  new  situation.  Enfran- 
chisement of  blacks  and  disfranchisement  of  white  leaders 
had  already  been  mooted  in  Congress,  even  before  the  passage 
of  the  bill  establishing  the  Bureau.  The  consummation  of 
such  a  scheme  would  affoi'd  vast  opportunities  to  those  who 
could  control  the  negro  vote  ;  and  Bureau  employees  began 
at  once  to  establish  themselves  in  the  confidence  of  the  colored 


KECONSTEUCTION  IN  ALABAMA.  31 

man.  The  phrase  flashed  like  lightning  through  the  region 
of  the  late  Confederacy  that  at  Freedmeu's  Bureau  agencies 
"  the  bottom  rail  was  on  top."  The  conditions  which  this 
expression  implied  exasperated  the  whites,  in  like  ratio  as  the 
negroes  were  delighted. 

The  faith  of  the  freedraan  in  the  guardian  the  Government 
hud  })laced  over  him  soon  became  unbounded,  and,  if  these 
guardians  had  so  desired,  everj  able-bodied  freedman  in  Ala- 
bama would,  in  the  fall  of  1865,  if  not  already  provided  for, 
have  been  hunting  a  home  and  wages  for  the  coming  year. 
Instead  of  this  they  were  generally  found  here,  as  Gen,  Grant 
reported  on  the  11th  of  December,  1865,  they  were  elsewhere, 
refusing  to  make  contracts  and  waiting  for  Government  aid. 
There  had  never  been  any  system  of  statutes  compelling  to 
industrious  habits  in  Alabama,  as  there  was  in  the  New 
England  states.  What  could  the  Legislature  do  but  pass 
laws  to  prevent  idleness  and  vagrancy  ? 

On  the  21st  day  of  June,  1865,  President  Johnston  had 
issued  his  proclamation  for  the  restoration  of  civil  authority 
in  Alabama,  appointing  I^ewis  E.  Parsons,  a  Union  man. 
Provisional  Governor.  A  state  convention  had  been  called, 
had  met,  abrogated  the  ordinance  of  secession  and  repudiated 
the  Confederate  debt.  Then  a  Legislature  had  been  elected. 
It  was  now  in  session  and  had  ratified  the  thirteenth  amend- 
ment, abolishing  slavery,  with  practical  unanimity.  It  then 
addressed  itself  to  the  task  of  providing  laws  to  remedy  the 
labor  situation.  In  the  Congressional  canvass  at  the  North, 
during  the  next  fall,  these  Alabama  laws,  with  others  of  like 
character,  passed  by  states  in  like  condition,  were  made  to 
figure  as  ''new  slave  codes  in  the  South."  Mr.  Blaine 
devotes  many  pages  of  his  "Twenty  Years  in  Congress" 
to  these  statutes,  denouncing  them  unreservedly,  without 
so  much  as  noticing  the  conditions  which  called  them 
forth.  His  effort  seems  to  be  to  embalm  into  enduring 
history  the  political  literature  of  that  exciting  period. 
The  limits  of  this  article  permit  only  a  brief  reply  to 
his  strictures.  He  says  (p.  94,  Vol.  11):  ''In  Alabama, 
which  might  serve  as  an  example  for  the  other  rebellious  states^ 
'stubborn  and  refractory  servants^  and  'servants  who  loiter 


oo  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

away  their  time'  were  declared  by  tlie  law  to  be  'vagrants' 
and  might  be  brought  before  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  fined 
fifty  doTlars,  and  in  default  of  payment  they  might  be  hired 
out  on  three  days'  notice  by  public  outcry  for  the  pc^riod  of 
six  months.  No  fair  man  can  fail  to  see  that  the  whole  eifect 
and  presumably  the  direct  intent  of  this  law  was  to  reduce 
the  helpless  negro  to  slavery  for  half  the  year,"  etc. 

This  statute  is  not  widely  different  from  the  following  law 
of  Rhode  Island,  Rev.  of  1872,  p.  243:  '^f  any  servant 
or  apprentice  shall  depart  from  the  service  of  his  master  or 
otherwise  neglect  his  duty  "  he  shall  be  arrested  on  oath  to  be 
made  "  in  writing  by  his  master,"  and  the  officer  may  commit 
him  to  the  state  work-house  of  correction,"  etc.  Certainly 
"  otherivise  neglect  his  duty  "  is  as  broad  as  "  loiter  away  his 
time,"  and  includes  "  stubborn  and  refractory "  and  much 
more — and  the  punishment  in  both  cases  is  hard  labor  ;  differ- 
ing in  kind  because  there  were  no  work-houses  in  Alabama 
as  in  Rhode  Island. 

After  further  comment  on  the  statute  above  quoted,  Mr. 
Blaine  assails  the  apprentice  law,  which  is  not  materially 
different  from  the  apprentice  laws  of  the  New  England  states, 
except  in  one  parti-cular,  to  which  he  calls  especial  attention, 
thus :  ''  Then  follows  a  suggestive  proviso  that  if  said  minor 
be  the  child  of  a  freedman,  as  if  any  other  class  were  really 
referred  to,  the  former  owner  of  said  minor  shall  have  the 
preference."  This  was  really  a  humane  provision.  The  old 
master  was  far  more  apt  to  be  kind  to  a  child,  who  had  been 
born  his,  than  a  stranger  would  be. 

General  Schofield,  who  had  been  much  in  the  South,  recog- 
nized this  fact  when  he  promulgated  orders,  May  15th,  1865, 
constituting  a  code  for  the  Government  of  Freedmen  in  North 
Carolina.  The  second  section  of  the  order  was  :  "  The  former 
masters  are  constituted  the  guardians  of  minors  in  the  absence 
of  parents  or  other  near  relatives  capable  of  supporting  them.'' 
Mr.  Blaine  continues  his  comments.  *'  To  tighten  the  grasp 
of  ownership  on  the  minor,  who  was  now  styled  an  apprentice, 
it  was  enacted,  in  almost  the  precise  phrase  of  the  old  slave 
code,  that  whoever  shall  entice  said  apprentice  from  his  master 
or  mistress  and  furnish  food  or  clothing  to  him  or  her,  without 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  ALABAMA.  33 

said  coDsent,  shall  be  fined  in  a  sum  not  exceeding  five  hundred 
dollars." 

Compare  Statutes  of  Connecticut,  Eev.  of  1866,  p.  320 : 
^*  If  any  person  shall  entice  such  minor  (apprentice)  from  the 
service  or  employment  of  such  master  .  .  .or  shall  aid  or 
abet  therein"  he  shall  be  fined  "a  sum  not  exceeding  one 
hundred  dollars  or  be  imprisoned  for  a  term  not  exceeding  six 
months.^' 

The  penalty  here  might  reach  six  months^  imprisonment. 
The  same  offense  in  Alabama  could  only  be  punished  by  fine. 

Pages  95-6,  Mr.  Blaine  says  :  "  The  ingenuity  of  Alabama 
Legislators  in  contriving  schemes  to  re-enslave  the  negroes 
was  not  exhausted  by  the  odious  and  comprehensive  statutes 
already  cited.  They  passed  an  act  to  incorporate  the  city  of 
Mobile,  substituting  a  new  charter  for  the  old  one.  The  city 
had  suffered  much  from  the  suspension  and  decay  of  trade 
during  the  war,  and  it  was  in  need  of  labor  to  make  repairs 
to  streets,  culverts,  sewers,  wharves  and  all  other  public  prop- 
erty. By  the  new  charter  Aldermen  and  Common  Council 
were  empowered  to  cause  all  vagrants  ...  all  such  as 
have  no  visible  means  of  support  ...  all  who  can  show 
no  reasonable  source  of  employment  or  business  in  the  city 
.  .  .  all  those  who  have  no  fixed  residence  or  cannot 
give  a  good  account  of  themselv^es  .  .  .  or  are  loitering  in 
and  about  tippling-houses,  to  give  security  for  their  behavior 
for  a  reasonable  time  and  to  indemnify  the  City  against  any 
charge  for  their  support  and  in  case  of  their  inability  or  re- 
fusal to  give  such  security,  to  cause  them  to  be  confined  to 
labor  for  a  limited  time,  not  exceeding  six  mouths,  which 
labor  shall  be  designated  by  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Com- 
mon Council  for  the  benefit  of  the  City.  It  will  be  observed, 
by  the  least  intelligent,  that  the  charge  made  in  this  City  Or- 
dinance was  in  substance  the  poverty  of  the  classes  quoted,  a 
poverty  which  was  of  course  the  inevitable  result  of  slavery/' 
etc.,  etc. 

Before  commenting  on  this  extract,  let  it  be  noted  that 
here  is  no  charge  of  any  abuses  under  the  law.  All  this  de- 
nunciation is  based  on  the  legislation^  as  found  in  the  books. 

Now  Massachusetts,  Vermont,  Rhode  Island  and  Connec- 

3 


34  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

ticut  were  never  situated  as  Alabama  was  in  1865,  never  had 
Government  Bureau  Agents  demoralizing  labor  in  their 
midst,  and  yet  we  find  in  General  Statutes  Rhode  Island,  1872, 
p.  555  :  "  Every  sturdy  beggar  who  shall  apply  for  alms  or 
solicit  charity ;  every  person  wandering  abroad  and  lodging 
in  Station-houses  and  not  giving  a  good  account  of  himself 
.  .  .  every  vagrant  or  disorderly  person  shall  be  im- 
prisoned not  less  than  six  months  nor  more  than  three  years/^ 

In  General  Statutes  No.  5,  of  1864,  p.  24,  of  Vermont,  acts 
similar  to  those  described  in  the  Rhode  Island  and  Alabama 
statutes  are  made  punishable  by  imprisonment  not  exceeding 
six  months,  and  any  citizen  "  may  of  his  own  authority  and 
without  process  arrest  '^  and  convey  to  the  magistrate,  etc. 

If  he  could  have  found  in  the  Alabama  law  any  authority 
for  a  private  citizen  to  "  arrest  without  process,'^  what  term 
woidd  have  been  too  harsh  for  Mr.  Blaine  to  use  ? 

In  General  Statutes  of  Connecticut,  Rev.  of  1865,  p.  109, 
is  found  a  law  that  declares  vagrants,  "  all  persons  who  travel 
from  place  to  place  without  lawful  occasion  ...  all 
persons  camping  on  the  public  highway  without  consent,^' 
etc. 

By  public  Statutes  Massachusetts,  1882,  p.  1170,  persons 
^^  roving  about  from  place  to  place  and  begging  or  living  with- 
out labor  ^^  are  declared  tramps  and  made  subject  to  imprison- 
ment in  the  house  of  correction  '^  not  less  than  six  months  nor 
more  than  two  years,"  while  in  Alabama  the  punishment  for 
similar  offences  could  not  exceed  six  months. 

Mr.  Blaine  seems  not  to  have  known,  when  he  was  making 
these  attacks  on  the  legislation  of  a  distant  state,  that  similar 
and  even  harsher  laws  were  in  force  all  around  him.  Indeed, 
tlie  laws  of  his  own  state  were,  as  they  are  now,  more  rigor- 
ous than  those  he  was  assailing.  The  second  volume  of 
"Twenty  Years  in  Congress "  was  published  in  1882.  At 
that  very  time  the  law  of  Maine  (see  CliapterXXI.)  provided 
for  committing  to  the  work-house  "all  poor,  indigent  persons 
maintained  by  or  receiving  alms  from  the  town,  all  able- 
bodied  persons,  not  having  estate  or  means  otherwise  to  main- 
tain themselves  who  refuse  or  neglect  to  ivork/'  etc.,  etc.  .  .  . 
and  after  being  thus  committed  to  the  work-house,   "  for  no 


EECONSTKUCTION   IN  ALABAMA.  35 

crime  but  poverty,"  the  unfortunate  man,  by  Section  8  of  the 
same  chapter,  ''  for  idleness,  obstinacy  or  disorderly  con- 
duct," is  subject  to  be  punished  "as  provided  by  the  lawful 
regulations  of  the  House." 

But  that  is  not  all.     We  might  paraphrase  Mr.  Blaine  and 
say :    "  The  ingenuity   of    Maine  legislators    in    contriving 
schemes   to   circumvent   the   unfortunate   poor  was  not  ex- 
hausted  by  the  odious  and  comprehensive  statutes  already 
cited."  They  provided,  Section  17,  p.  925,  Rev.  Statutes,  1883, 
that  "  whoever  gees  about  from  town  to  town,  or  from  place 
to  j^lace  in  any  town,  asking  for  food  or  shelter,  or  begging 
.  .  .  shall  be  deemed   a  tramp  and   be  imprisoned  at  hard 
labor  in   the  state  prison  for  not  more  than  fifteen  months." 
By  this  law  the  laborer  locked  out  of  a  mill  by  act  of  the 
owner  is  made  a  tramp,  if,  while  going  from  town  to  town  in 
quest  of  w^ork,  he  begs  bread  to  subsist  life  or  even  asks  for 
shelter.     Section  18,  on  the  same  page,  then  declares  :    "  If 
a  tramp  enters  a  dwelling  house,  or  kindles  a  fire  in  the  high- 
way or  on  the  land  of  another,  without  the  consent  of  the 
owner  or  occupant  ...  he  shall  be  punished  at  hard  labor 
in  the  state  prison  for  not  more  than  two  years."     The  poor 
man  may  starve  and  freeze,  but  must  not  beg.     If  he  does  he 
is  punishable,  in  Maine,  to  the  extent  of  two  years  in  the 
state  prisou  for  his  very  first  offense.     The  limit  of  the  Ala- 
bama law  was  six  months. 

As  a  sort  of  capping  to  the  sheaf  he  has  been  gathering  in 
the  field  of  Alabama  legislation,  Mr.  Blaine  crowns  his  fore- 
going criticisms  with  this  remark  :  ^'  The  fact  w'ill  not  escape 
attention  that  in  th^se  enactments  the  words  '  master,'  *  mis- 
tress' and  'servant'  are  used."  This  in  Alabama  legislation 
appears  to  be  the  very  climax  of  iniquity  ;  and  yet,  in  the 
Revised  Statutes  of  Maine,  1883,  p.  256,  under  the  heading 
*'  Masters,  Apprentices  and  Servants,"  occur  the  words 
"  master  "  and  '^  mistress,"  and  further  on  the  words  "  mas- 
ters" and  ''mistresses."  The  simple  truth  is  that  these 
])hrases  are  so  imbedded  in  the  terminology  of  the  law  that 
they  probably  occur  in  the  statutes  of  every  state  in  the 
Union. 

Prof.  Alexander  Johnson,  in  his  article  on  Reconstruction 


36 


WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 


(Cyc.  Pol.  Sci.,  Vol.  III.  p.  546),  says,  the  controlling  reason 
of  the  Republican  successes  in  the  Congressional  elections  at 
the  North  in  1866  ''will  be  found  in  the  constant  irritation 
kept  up  by  the  general  cast  of  the  legislation  in  regard  to 
freedmen  by  the  reconstructed  legislatures  in  1865-66,'^  etc., 
etc.  If  this  be  true,  then  it  is  submitted  that  the  sober  judg- 
ment of  this  day  must  be,  that  in  1866  the  Northern  mind 
was  so  much  excited  that  it  did  not  judge  the  situation  fairly. 
Mr.  Blaine  has  commented  on  the  Alabama  legislation  taken 
"as  an  example"  of  other  legislation  in  the  South.  Certainly 
no  one  can  present  the  partisan  view  of  that  situation  more 
strongly  than  he  has  done. 

The  writer  of  this  article  would  never  think  of  citing  these 
New  England  Statutes  for  the  purpose  of  basing  on  them  a 
serious  attack  on  the  legislation  of  those  states.  Law\s  aimed 
at  idleness,  it  is  well  known,  are  never  so  harsh  in  their 
actual  operation  as  the  strict  letter  of  the  statute  would  seem 
to  indicate. 

But  when  the  author  of  a  book,  as  important  as  that  of 
Mr.  Blaine,  ignores  this  fact  and  bases  a  studied  assault  solely 
on  the  language  of  statutes,  it  is  but  just  to  reply  by  quota- 
tions from  statutes.  Of  the  comparison  the  reader  can  judge 
for  himself. 

How  unfortunate  it  is  that  there  is  so  much  political  dyna- 
mite in  the  negro  question  !  When  will  the  time  come  when 
the  voter  will  sternly  demand  that  politicians  shall  apj)eal  to 
reason  and  not  to  passion  ? 

*  The  Spring  of  1866  was  now  come.  The  first  of  January 
had  passed  without  the  division  of  land,  which  had  been  ex- 
pected to  take  place  then,  and  the  colored  people  were  begin- 
ning to  see  the  necessity  of  exerting  themselves  ;  but  negro 
labor  was  still  much  demoralized.  As  for  the  whites,  even 
those  who  had  been  most  hopeful  were  beginning  to  despond. 
They  had  done  all  they  could  for  the  restoration  of  honest, 
economical  government  to  the  State.  But  Congress  had  re- 
fused to  allow  them  representation,  and  the  Freedmen's  Bu- 
reau and  the  army  were  still  exercising  supreme  power  in  the 
state,  while  the  battle  for  negro  suffrage  was  being  fought  out 
in  Washington  and  before  the  people  of  the  North.     Could 


EECONSTRUCTION   IN  ALABAMA.  37  ' 

good  government  at  the  South  be  expected  if  the  ballot  should 
be  given  to  the  newly  enfranchised  black  man  ?  Few  Ala- 
bam  iaus  thought  so. 

Republican  government  must  be  founded  on  virtue,  intelli- 
gence and  patriotism.  Of  all  the  races  in  the  world  the  negro 
alone  had  been  able  to  hold,  always,  a  whole  continent  locked 
in  the  impenetrable  mysteries  of  barbarism.  First  Egyptian, 
and  then  Moorish  civilization  had  assailed  Africa  from  the 
North  ;  then  Asiatics  from  the  East  and  Europeans  from  the 
West  had  essayed  to  penetrate  it — but  Africa  was  still  the  dark 
continent.  This  was  the  fight  the  African  had  fought  at 
home  against  civilization.  Brought  from  his  native  land, 
freed  from  native  influences,  as  a  slave  he  had  greatly  devel- 
oped— he  was  kindly  disposed,  docile  and  faithful.  He  had 
cared  for  the  women  and  children  of  the  South,  even  when 
battles  were  being  fought  in  which  his  freedom  was  at  stake. 
For  this  the  Southern  people  felt  deeply  grateful,  yet  they 
could  not  think  that  his  training  as  a  slave  had  fitted  him  to 
take  part  in  the  government  of  a  state. 

Liberia,  the  free  state,  a  creature  of  generous  charities, 
though  under  the  continued  sustentation  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent philanthropists,  was  nevertheless  a  failure.  Hayti  and 
San  Domingo  were  monumental  warnings.  The  celebrated 
English  historian  James  Anthony  Froude,  in  his  book  ''  The 
English  in  the  West  Indies, '^  p.  88,  says  :  *'  In  Hayti,  the 
black  republic  allows  no  white  man  to  hold  land  in  freehold.'' 
And  he  adds,  as  the  result  of  a  thorough  study  of  the  subject, 
^'  the  blacks  elsewhere  with  the  same  opportunities  will  de- 
velop the  same  aspirations." 

There  seemed  in  1866  to  be  no  ground  to  hope  that  an  ex- 
periment of  negro  suffrage  in  the  South  would  prove  more 
successful  than  elsewhere.  Nevertheless  there  were  Alaba- 
mians  who  favored  it.  Some  of  these  were  politicians,  con- 
tent to  take  office  at  any  price  to  the  country ;  but  others  of 
them  were  good  citizens,  who  had  become  so  embittered  by  the 
w^ar,  that  they  were  willing  to  accept  the  aid  even  of  their 
former  slaves  in  their  fight  against  the  Secessionists  ;  though 
there  was  comino;  a  crisis  that  was  to  silence  even  a  hatred 
like  this. 


38  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

The  people  of  Alabama  felt  that  they  were  vitally  interested 
ill  the  question  of  universal  suifrage,  and  that  they  ought  to 
have  a  voice  in  its  settlement.  Congress,  however,  had 
decided  that  they  should  not,  and  seemed  now  determined  to 
put  it  upon  them.  This  produced,  necessarily,  more  or  less  of 
exasperation  among  the  whites  ;  and  caused,  at  the  same  time, 
a  spirit  of  exultation  on  the  part  of  the  blacks.  Indeed,  the 
colored  people  were  already  beginning  to  assume  a  tone  of  de- 
fiance, encouraged,  as  they  were,  not  only  by  the  refusal  of 
Congress  to  recognize  the  state  government,  but  also  by 
Freed  men's  Bureau  agents,  who  had  the  army  and  all  the 
power  of  the  United  States  behind  them.  Of  course,  it  was 
impossible  that  every  citizen  in  the  state  could,  in  his  dealings 
with  either  whites  or  blacks,  be  always  circumspect,  prudent 
and  just.  In  spite  of  every  influence  that  could  be  brought 
to  bear  by  thoughtful  men,  who  comprehended  the  situation, 
there  was  some  strife  between  the  races. 

Provocations  were  often  excessively  resented,  and,  as  is  al- 
ways the  case,  in  such  crises,  every  wrong  done,  if  a  colored 
man  was  the  subject,  even  every  peccadillo,  was  magnified, 
many  times  over,  by  political  opponents. 

The  situation  in  the  South  figured  largely  in  the  North  in 
the  elections  of  1866.  The  Republicans  succeeded.  The  Re- 
construction Acts  were  passed,  over  the  President's  veto, 
March  2d,  and  March  19th,  1867.  Gen.  Pope  was  placed  in 
command  of  the  district  composed  of  Georgia,  Florida,  Ala- 
bama and  Mississippi.  Gen.  Wager  Swayne  took  command 
of  the  state,  with  headquarters  at  Montgomery.  The  state 
had  been  thoroughly  reorganized  and  her  courts  in  full 
operation  for  nearly  eighteen  months ;  but  now  the  sound  of 
the  bugle,  resounding  night  and  morning  through  the  cor- 
ridors of  her  capitol,  indicated  that  all  power  was  again  in 
the  mailed  hand  of  the  soldier.  The  army  had  come  to  over- 
throw the  government  set  up  by  the  people  under  the  plan 
devised  by  Lincoln  and  followed  by  Johnson  ;  just  as,  two 
years  before,  it  had  come  to  destroy  the  government  that  had 
existed  under  Jefferson  Davis. 

Gen.  Swayne,  in  a  speech  at  Montgomery,  March  1867, 
thus  pictured  the  situation :  "  It  is  nearly  two  years  since  the 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  ALABAMA.  39 

war  ended,  yet  instead  of  the  blessings  of  peace,  we  have  had 
difficulties  which  can  hardly  be  exaggerated  and  which  are 
still  increasing;  criminations  and  re-criminations  springing 
from  the  past ;  doubt  engendering  paralysis  and  poverty  to 
blight  all  present  effort ;  discouragement  and  apprehension 
clouding  all  our  future/' 

There  was  yet  a  possibility  that  the  reconstruction  policy 
of  Congress  might  fail.  President  Johnson,  though  Congress 
was  constantly  passing  bills  over  his  vetoes,  was  still  standing 
firm.  He  thought  that,  if  a  proper  case  were  brought,  the 
Supreme  Court  would  declare  the  laws  void.  That  they  were 
violative  of  the  Constitution  he  had  no  manner  of  doubt,  and 
feeling,  as  he  always  did,  supreme  confidence  in  the  judgment 
of  the  people,  he  was  absolutely  sure  that  such  would  be  the 
popular  verdict  in  the  Presidential  election  of  1868. 

But  the  majority  of  the  people  of  Alabama  were  not  as 
hopeful  as  was  the  President. 

In  April,  1867,  Albert  Gallatin  Brown,  formerly  United 
States  Senator  from  Mississippi,  and  possessing  largely  the 
confidence  of  Southern  people,  came  out  in  a  letter  advising 
acquiescence  in  the  policy  of  Congress,  and  participation  in 
the  proceedings  described  by  the  Reconstruction  Acts,  that 
peace  and  as  good  government  as  was  possible  might  be 
secured  to  the  country.  His  letter  was  soon  reenforced  by 
another  of  similar  import  from  John  A.  Campbell,  a  distin- 
guished Alabamian,  formerly  a  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States.  A  majority  of  the  leading  papers  of 
the  state  took  the  same  position.  They  advised  acquiescence 
and  assistance,  '^not  because  we  approv^e  the  policy  of  the 
reconstruction  laws,  but  because  it  is  the  best  we  can  do.'' 

The  leader  of  the  opposition  was  Gen.  James  H.  Clanton, 
a  man  of  phenomenal  courage,  of  great  directness  of  thought 
and  speech  and  of  singular  magnetism.  He  had  been  a 
Whig,  and  was  opposed  to  secession;  but  when  the  war  began, 
believing  in  the  doctrine  of  state  sovereignty,  he  cast  his  lot 
with  the  people  of  his  state  and  made  a  brave  Confederate 
soldier.  He  now  organized  the  opposition  under  the  name 
of  the  Conservative  party  of  Alabama.  This  was  a  name 
that  would  offend  the  prejudices  of  no  one  and  would  em- 


40  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

brace  all  who  desired  to  preserve  the  government  that  had 
been  organized  in  the  state  under  the  Presidential  plan. 

On  the  11th  of  May,  1867,  Senator  Henry  Wilson,  of 
Massachusetts,  made  a  political  speech  at  the  capitol  in  Mont- 
gomery to  a  great  crowd  of  whites  and  blacks.  He  took  the 
position  that  the  Republican  party  had  entitled  itself  to  the 
votes  of  all  the  colored  men,  and  then,  assuming  that  the 
negroes  must  and  would  act  together,  he  made  an  able  appeal 
to  white  men  to  join  them.  Gen.  Clanton  replied,  combating 
Mr.  Wilson's  positions,  and  especially  contending  that  the 
Southern  white  man  was  the  natural  ally  and  best  friend  of 
the  negro.  Gen.  Clanton's  speech  had  wide  circulation  and 
great  effect.  It  pointed  out  that  the  result  of  the  teachings 
of  Senator  Wilson  would  be  the  establishment  in  the  state  of 
a  party  that  would  be  controlled  by  aliens  and  colored  men. 
A  few  days  afterwards.  May  14th,  Judge  Kelley,  of  Penn- 
sylvania, made  a  political  speech  at  night  in  the  streets  of 
Mobile,  which,  unfortunately,  Avas  attended  by  a  riot.  Pistols 
were  fired,  mostly,  if  not  entirely,  in  the  air,  and,  though 
nobody  was  hurt  in  the  riot,  the  meeting  was  broken  up. 
Gen.  Swayne,  after  investigation,  reported.  May  20th,  to 
Gen.  Pope  that  ''the  disturbance  was  not  apprehended  or 
deliberately  planned,  unless,  possibly,  by  a  small  party  of 
ruffians,  such  as  are  usually  found  in  cities,'^  etc.  Gen.  Pope, 
nevertheless,  thought  proper  to  remove  Major  Withers  for 
not  preventing  the  riot,  and  he  appointed  in  his  stead  a  Mr. 
Gustavus  Horton. 

The  following  is  an  example  of  the  administration  of  Mr. 
Horton  : — 

^  The  Mobile  Tribune  had  been  publishing  some  spicy  criti- 
cisms of  his  decisions,  and  had  made  mention,  also,  of  Mr. 
Bromberg,  then  affiliating  politically  with  the  mayor.  Charles 
Archie  Johnson  was  a  good-natured,  half-witted,  loud- 
mouthed deformed  negro  news-vender;  and  on  one  particular 
occasion  he  made  himself  especially  offensive  by  crying  aloud 
on  the  streets,  "Here's  yer  Mobile  Tribune,  wid  all  about 
Mayor  Horton  an'  his  Bomberg  rats."  The  IMayor,  it  is 
said,^^considered  this  an  offense  against  the  "Civil  Rights 
Bill/'  which,  as  we  shall  see,  afterwards  made  a  marked 


SECONSTKUCTION  IN  ALABAMA.  41 

figure  in  Alabama  Courts,  and  he  actually  sentenced  the 
negro  Johnson  to  banishment  from  Mobile  to  New  Orleans. 
This  was  all  very  ludicrous.  Banishment  is  contrary  to  the 
genius  of  American  government ;  but  so  is  the  appointment 
of  a  civil  officer  in  time  of  peace  by  a  military  chieftain ; 
and  the  logical  mind  of  the  mayor,  who  had  gotten  his  power 
from  Gen.  Pope,  was  unable  to  comprehend  why  he,  Mayor 
Horton,  could  not  banish  a  negro,  just  over  to  New  Orleans. 

Soon  after  the  assignment  of  Gen.  Swayne  to  the  command 
over  Alabama  it  came  to  be  an  open  secret  that  he  was  a 
prospective  candidate  for  the  United  States  Senate. 

As  far  back  as  June  4th,  1866,  the  General  had  begun  to 
make  straight  the  way  before  him.  On  that  day,  which  was 
two  days  after  the  first  meeting  of  the  Montgomery  Council 
of  the  Union  League  of  America,  his  name  was  proposed  for 
membership  in  that  Council  and  on  the  next  day  he  was 
initiated.  This  Council  was  simply  an  association  of  those 
who  were  training  themselves  for  leadership  in  the  party, 
which,  it  was  then  evident,  Congress  was  about  to  legislate 
into  existence  in  Alabama.  It  is  true  that  the  Constitution  of 
the  League  declared  in  the  concluding  words  of  Sec.  2  that 
its  purpose  was  '4o  protect,  strengthen  and  defend  all  loyal 
men  without  regard  to  sect,  condition  or  party '^;  but  if  it 
had  had  no  other  object  than  this  it  would  have  welcomed  all 
good  men  to  membership.  The  minutes  show,  however,  that 
many  such  were  refused  admission,  evidently  from  the  spirit 
of  rivalry,  for  nearly  all  these  rejections  occurred  after  the 
passage  of  the  reconstruction  laws,  and  when  the  time  was 
drawing  near  for  a  division  of  the  spoils.  Indeed,  the  pur- 
poses of  the  organization  are  not  left  to  inference  at  all. 
May  22d,  1867,  this  Montgomery  Council  resolved  "that  the 
Union  League  is  the  right  arm  of  the  Union  Republican 
party  of  the  United  States,  and  that  no  man  should  be 
initiated  into  the  League  who  does  not  heartily  endorse  the 
principles  and  policy  of  the  Union  Republican  party.'^ 

The  Montgomery  Council  was  composed  mainly,  if  not 
altogether,  of  white  Republicans.  The  Lincoln  Council,  in 
the  same  city,  and  many  others  elsewhere,  were  for  blacks, 
principally.     While  the  Union  League  was  a  means  of  solidi- 


42  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

fying  the  negro  vote,  it  was  also  used  to  shut  out  white  men. 
Not  only  were  reputable  citizens  kept  out  by  the  votes  of 
members,  but  the  very  framework  of  the  League  was  so  con- 
structed as  to  exclude  most  of  the  Southern  whites.  The 
fifth  question  asked  of  an  applicant  upon  his  initiation  was 
''Do  you  hold  and  believe  that  secession  is  treason ?''  etc. 
Of  course,  although  the  man  who  had  fought  for  secession 
was  willing  to  renounce  it  for  the  future,  he  could  not  be  ex- 
pected to  assent  to  this  proposition. 

When  Southern  white  men  were  thus  excluded  from,  while 
the  negro  was  sworn  into,  this  controlling  organization,  no 
other  political  result  was  possible  than  that  which  followed — a 
republican  party  dominated  by  negroes — a  black  man's  party. 

Gen.  Swayne's  Chief  Clerk,  Keiffer,  was  Secretary  of  the 
Montgomery  Council,  U.  L.  A.,  and  was  also  chairman  of  the 
Kepublican  Executive  Committee  for  the  State.  When  Gen. 
Pope,  May  21st,  1867,  ordered  the  registration  of  voters, 
Gen.  Swayne  appointed  for  each  of  the  forty-two  districts 
three  persons,  all  Republicans.  Montgomery  was  headquarters 
of  the  General  and  of  the  Republican  party.  From  that 
city  General  Swayne  sent  five  colored  men  to  be  registrars  in 
distant  counties.  Thus  while  registration  proceeded  during 
the  day  these  registrars  had  opportunity  at  night  to  organize 
the  Union  League  among  the  colored  men  who  came  to  be 
registered. 

Mystery  is  always  attractive,  especially  to  the  uneducated. 
To  the  freedman  an  invitation  to  join  a  secret  league,  which 
was  to  protect  him  in  the  newly-found  liberties,  of  which  he 
was  told  his  former  master  was  conspiring  to  deprive  him, 
was  simply  irresistible  ;  and  the  invitation  certainly  lost  no 
force  because  it  came  from  those  who  were  his  guardians  by 
law  and  who  claimed  that  their  party  had  freed  liim.  In  the 
Union  League  the  negroes  were  sworn  with  uplifted  hand,  ''  in 
the  presence  of  God  and  these  witnesses,"  "  to  vote  only  for, 
and  for  none  but,  those  who  advocate  and  support  the  great 
principles  set  forth  by  the  League  to  fill  any  office  of  honor, 
profit  or  trust  in  either  the  State  or  General  Government."* 


-X- 


See  Eitual,  Constitution  and  By-Laws  of  National  Council   Union 
League,  p.  13. 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  ALABAMA.  43 

The  forms  and  ceremonies  for  the  initiation  of  a  member, 
as  prescribed  in  the  pamphlet  above  quoted,  when  followed 
by  an  explanation  of  the  signs,  grips  and  pass-words,  as 
printed  in  the  key  intended  '^  for  the  use  of  officers  of  the 
Council  only,^'  must  have  been,  to  the  inexperienced  freed- 
man,  another  chapter  from  Revelations.  How  impressive 
these  words,  which  the  initiating  officer  spoke  to  the  new 
members,  "  with  clasped  and  uplifted  hands  repeat  after  me 
the  Freed  man's  Pledge — To  defend  and  perpetuate  Freedom  ^ 
Political  Equality  and  an  indivisible  Union  I  pledge  my  life,  my 
fortune  and  my  sacred  honor.     So  help  me  God  !  '^ 

These  are  some  of  the  things  that  occurred  inside  of  the 
League.  Outside,  the  freed  man  found  leading  members  of 
Congress  coming  down  South  to  tell  him  that  his  allegiance 
was  due  to  the  party  that  had  freed  him  and  given  him  the 
bdlot.  He  also  found  great  soldiers,  like  Gen.  Swayne,  giv- 
ing the  same  advice. 

What  folly  for  Mr.  Greeley  to  deplore  the  formation  of 
"  a  black  man's  party  "  !  The  forces  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  freedman  could  not  be  resisted ;  he  was  clay  in  the  hands 
of  the  potter ;  and  was  fashioned  to  the  uses  of  those  who 
wrouorht. 

Gen.  Swayne,  though  he  undoubtedly  hoped  to  get  office 
by  the  destruction  of  the  Lincoln-Johnson  Government  in 
Alabama,  was  nevertheless  far  more  conservative  in  his  utter- 
ances than  his  superior,  Gen.  Pope.  In  a  letter  to  Gen.  Grant 
of  date  July  14th,  1867,  Gen.  Pope  wrote  concerning  the 
freedmen  :  "  It  may  be  safely  said  that  the  marvelous  pro- 
gress made  in  the  education  of  these  people,  aided  by  the  noble 
charitable  contributions  of  Northern  societies  and  individuals, 
finds  no  parallel  in  the  history  of  manldnd.  If  continued,  it 
must  be  by  the  same  means,  and  if  the  masses  of  the  white 
people  exhibit  the  same  indisposition  to  be  educated  that  they 
do  now,  five  years  will  have  transferred  intelligence  and  educa- 
tion, so  far  as  the  masses  are  concerned,  to  the  colored  people 
of  this  District,"  which  included  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama 
and  Mississippi.  In  the  South  this  was  looked  upon  as  an 
official  justification  of  the  scheme  to  put  the  black  race  over 
the  white,  and  it  did  not  there  popularize  either  the  General 


44  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

in  command  or  the  policy  of  Congress ;  but  the  marvelous 
prophecy  may  have  found  believers  in  other  parts  of  the 
country. 

All  these  things  tended  to  drive  away  those  intelligent 
and  influential  men  whose  support  was  necssary  to  the  suc- 
cess of  a  llepublican  party  in  Alabama,  but  there  still  re- 
mained a  very  great  indisposition  to  oppose  tlie  policy  of 
Congress. 

July  23d,  1867,  General  Clanton,  Chairman  of  the  State 
Committee,  called  a  convention  of  the  opposition,  tlien  called, 
as  we  have  seen,  "  the  Conservative  Party  of  Alabama,''  to 
meet  on  September  4th.  Strenuous  efforts  were  made  tO 
secure  a  large  attendance,  but  only  thirteen  out  of  the  sixty- 
five  counties  of  the  state  were  represented.  But  now  the 
teachings  of  those  who  were  organizing  the  black  man's 
party  were  beginning  to  bring  results  that  u»ere  startling. 
The  negro  was  rapidly  assuming  an  attitude  of  hostility  to 
the  Southern  white  man.  Several  instances  had  occurred 
during  this  summer  of  colored  men  resisting  arrest  by  white 
officers ;  and  now  the  idea  of  forcibly  preventing  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Conservative  or  Opposition  Convention  at  Mont- 
gomery began  to  take  shape.  Fortunately,  however,  a  few 
leading  colored  meu,  appreciating  the  situation,  formed  them- 
selves into  a  "SPECIAL  Committee  on  the  Situation/^  and 
resolved  that  they  would  "  use  all  the  influence  they  may 
possess  to  counteract  any  acts  of  violence,"  if  offered,  "  to 
the  convention."  They  were  so  successful  that  the  delegates 
to  the  convention  did  not  know  of  the  danger  till  it  had 
passed.  Two  days  afterwards,  September  6th,  1867,  L.  J. 
Williams,  a  colored  Republican,  published  a  card,  as  chair- 
man, setting  forth  what  this  "  Special  Committee "  had 
done,  and  taking  to  it  the  credit  of  having  preserved  the 
peace.  It  was  indeed  creditable  to  Williams  and  the  com- 
mittee acting  with  him,  that  they  should  suppress  this  con- 
templated outrage.  The  fact,  however,  that  such  a  move- 
ment should  have  been  conceived  by  those,  who  had  so 
lately  been  slaves,  is  an  amazing  proof  of  the  facility  with 
which  the  colored  men  imbibed  the  lessons  that  were  being 
taught  them.     As  it  was,  the  convention  met  and  adjourned 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  ALABAMA.  45 

in  peace,  after  having  passed  resolutions  deprecating  efforts 
to  array  race  against  race,  favoring  education  of  the  negro 
and  expressing  the  belief  that  Congress  did  not  possess  the 
power  to  regulate  suffrage,  Some  months  after  this  occur- 
rence one  Wade  Potter,  a  colored  man,  who  had  been  speak- 
ing in  the  interest  of  the  Democrats,  was  assaulted  by  a 
mob  of  negroes  in  the  streets  of  ^lontgomery,  and  a  serious 
riot  was  only  prevented  by  the  coolness  and  courage  of 
Gen.  Clanton,  who  came  personally  to  the  rescue  of  Potter. 
The  extent  to  which  the  color  line  was  drawn  in  those  days 
by  the  colored  people  may  be  judged  of  when  it  is  stated 
that  negroes  who  dared  to  vote  with  the  Democrats  w^ere 
often  expelled  from  their  churches. 

Gen.  Pope,  August  31st,  ordered  an  election  for  delegates 
to  a  Constitutional  Convention,  the  voting  to  begin  October 
1st,  1867,  and  last  three  days.  At  this  election  18,553  white 
men  voted  for  delegates.  Besides  these,  many  more  passively 
favored  this  reconstruction  policy  by  refusing  to  register. 

The  convention  to  frame  a  new  constitution  met  on  tho 
5th  of  jS^ovember,  1867,  and  it  was  a  remarkable  assem- 
blage. Some  of  its  members  were  Alabamians,  intent  on 
the  best  government  that  might  be  possible;  others  were 
natives  of  the  state,  with  not  a  thought  beyond  self;  many 
were  negroes,  for  the  most  part  densely  ignorant,  and  many 
were  Northern  men  who,  having  failed  in  life  at  home,  had 
come  South  to  seek  their  fortunes  in  politics,  carrying  all 
their  worldly  possessions  in  grip-sacks — "  carpet-baggers.^^ 
In  a  Democratic  newspaper,  the  place  of  nativity  of  ninety- 
seven  out  of  a  hundred  members  of  the  convention  purports 
to  have  been  given  ;  thirty-one  of  them  being  from  Vermont, 
Connecticut,  Massachusetts,  Pennsylvania,  Maine,  New  Jer- 
sey, New  York,  Ohio,  Canada  and  Scotland.  The  debates  in 
the  convention  on  disfranchising  certain  classes  of  whites,  on 
mixed  schools,  intermarriage  of  the  races,  and  other  ques- 
tions were  exciting  and  inflammatory.  These  discussions, 
duly  reported  by  the  newpapers  of  the  day,  were  read  through- 
out the  state  with  the  deepest  concern.  An  overwhelming 
majority  of  the  constituency  of  this  convention  was  colored, 
and  it  had  not  been   long  in  session  before  it  became  quite 


46  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

clear  that  the  black  man's  party  was  in  control.  The  fact, 
that  had  begun  to  dawn  on  Mr.  Greeley  even  at  his  distance, 
in  Alabama  was  startling. 

Every  member  of  the  Convention  had  entered  it  as  a  friend 
of  the  reconstruction  policy  of  Congress  ;  but  delegates  began 
now  to  falter,  and  when  the  Convention  adjourned,  thirteen  of 
them  issued  an  address,  December  10th,  1867,  protesting 
ao-ainst  the  constitution  that  had  been  agreed  upon,  because 
'^it  tended  to  the  abasement  and  degradation  of  the  white 
population  of  the  state,'^  because  it  authorized  mixed  schools 
and  because  the  Convention  had  refused  to  prohibit  the  inter- 
marriao'e  of  the  races.  The  protest  pointed  out,  as  evidencing 
the  measure  in  which  leading  white  Republicans  cringed  to  their 
colored  colleagues,  that,  ^Hhough  the  Judiciary  Committee 
had  unanimoitdy  reported  a  measure  providing  against  amal- 
gamation, yet  the  Convention  tabled  it ;  and  many  members 
of  the  Committee,  who  had  concurred  in  the  report  of  the  Oom- 
mitteej  receding  from  their  position,  voted  to  lay  it  on  thetable.^^ 

The  white  people  of  the  state  were  now  greatly  depressed. 
Many  sought  homes  in  Texas — some  in  the  North  and  West, 
and  numbers  went  to  Brazil.  So  general  was  the  disposition 
to  go  in  this  last  direction  that  on  the  17th  December,  1867, 
Mr.  Chas.  Nathan,  of  New  Orleans,  published  notice  that  he  had 
contracted  with  the  Emperor  of  Brazil  to  carry  to  that  country 
one  thousand  families  per  annum.  Those,  however,  who  still 
hoped  for  the  failure  of  the  Congressional  plan  of  reconstruc- 
tion were  much  encouraged  by  the  result  of  the  fall  elections 
of  1867  in  the  North.  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio, 
Connecticut  and  California  all  went  Democratic  on  anti- 
negro  suffrage  resolutions,  and  in  Ohio  the  suffrage  amend- 
ment was  defeated  by  50,000  majority. 

Greatly  to  the  relief  of  the  people,  Gen.  Pope  was,  on  the 
28th  day  of  December,  1867,  relieved,  and  Gen.  Meade,  Jan- 
uary 6tli,  took  command  of  the  District.  Early  in  January 
Gen.  Swayne  was  also  sent  away  from  the  state. 

The   Vote  on  the  Constitution. 

The  election  for  the  ratification  or  rejection  of  the  Consti- 
tution was  to  be  held  on  the  1st,  2d  and  3d  of  February, 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  ALABAMA.  47 

1868,  and  its  friends  and  foes  now  prepared  for  the  conflict. 
The  law  of  Congress  provided  that  at  this  election  officers  to 
carry  on  the  new  government  should  be  chosen,  to  take  office, 
however,  only  upon  event  of  the  ratification  of  t'he  Constitu- 
tion. The  Republicans  nominated  a  full  ticket;  among  them 
the  following  from  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  :  Applegate,  of 
Ohio,  for  Lieutenant-Governor ;  Miller,  of  Maine,  Secretary 
of  State;  Reynolds,  of  Maine,  Auditor;  Jno.  C.  Keiffer,  of 
Ohio,  Commissioner  Internal  Revenue.  As  a  sample  of  their 
nominations  for  county  officers  in  localities  where  Northerners 
had  located,  the  ticket  for  Montgomery  County  may  be  given. 
For  the  Legislature;  Willard  Warner,  of  Ohio,  Paul  Strobach, 
of  Austria,  and  three  colored  men.  For  County  officers  :  Pro- 
bate Judge  Eely,  of  New  York  ;  Clerk  Circuit  Court,  Brain- 
ard,  a  Northerner;  and  for  Sheriff,  Barbour,  also  a  Northerner. 
All  these  had  come  into  the  state  either  with  the  army  or  had 
followed  in  its  wake. 

The  Conservatives  determined  to  defeat  the  Constitution  if 
possible.  It  was  deemed  a  serious  menace  to  the  welfare  of 
the  state. 

"  Born  of  the  Bayonet.^^ 

Mr.  Sumner,  when  the  vote  on  the  reconstruction  bill  of 
March  2,  1867,  was  about  to  be  taken,  troubled  his  associates 
in  the  Senate  very  much  by  a  sudden  flash  of  his  old  love  for 
government  based  on  the  consent  of  the  people.  He  would 
vote  for  the  bill,  but  confessed  his  regret  that  Congress  should 
employ  the  military  for  the  purposes  of  reconstruction,  and 
said,  "  I  would  not  see  new  states  born  of  the  bayonet.'^ 

But  so  the  new  state  of  Alabama  literally  was.  A  clause 
in  the  supplementary  Act  of  March  23d  required  that  a 
majority  of  the  registered  vote  should  be  cast,  else  the  Con- 
stitution could  not  be  ratified,  even  though  it  received  every 
vote  that  was  polled.  Senator  Wilson,  of  Massachusetts,  had 
pointed  out  in  debate  one  possible  effect  of  this  provision  of 
the  bill  thus  :  "It  is  a  proposition  to  enable  the  rebel  leaders 
to  take  advantage  of  all  persons  who  are  hostile  to  these  terms 
and  all  persons  who  cannot  go  to  the  poljs  to  vote.'^  But  the 
motion  to  strike  it  out  was   voted   down.     The   provision 


48  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

became  a  law,  after  the  attention  of  Congress  had  been  called 
to  the  effect  it  might  have,  and  it  never  occurred  to  any  man 
in  Alabama,  that  Congress  would  disregard  and  violate  its 
own  enactment. 

A  conference  of  prominent  Conservatives  from  all  parts  of 
the  state  met  at  the  Exchange  Hotel,  in  Montgomery,  on  the 
first  day  of  January,  1868,  to  consider  how  the  proposed  Con- 
stitution could  best  be  defeated.  After  an  anxious  considera- 
tion of  the  whole  subject,  protracted  for  three  days,  it  was 
decided  to  register  and  remain  away  from  the  polls,  making 
no  nominations  for  fear  that  friends  of  the  candidates,  in 
localities  where  they  were  likely  to  be  successful,  might  be 
tempted  to  vote  for  the  constitution.  An  eloquent  address 
was  issued,  signed  by  all  the  participants  in  the  conference, 
closing  thus :  "  With  a  deep  and  solemn  apprehension  of  the 
perils  of  our  condition,  with  a  painful  sense  of  the  responsi- 
bility of  advising  or  indicating  a  course  of  action ;  after  in- 
voking the  presence  and  guidance  in  our  deliberations  of  that 
God,  who  presides  over  the  destinies  of  nations,  after  elaborate 
and  ])rotracted  and  unreserved  conference  and  discussion," 
they  had  come  to  the  conclusion  to  recommend  that  electors 
should  register  and  not  vote. 

The  time  for  holding  the  election  was  protracted  by  Gen. 
Meade,  from  three  to  five  days,  that  all  might  have  the  fullest 
opportunity  to  vote.  The  constitution  was  beaten.  It  carried 
down  with  it,  of  course,  all  the  Republican  candidates ;  but, 
as  they  had  no  opponents,  these  candidates  would  all  take 
office  if  Congress  could  be  induced  to  declare  that  the  consti- 
tution had  been  ratified.  In  that  event  the  newly-created 
Republican  party  of  Alabama  would  have  full  possession  of 
every  department  of  the  state  government.  So  a  delegation 
was  immediately  started  off  to  Washington,  to  make  charges 
of  frauds  in  the  election,  which  had  been  held  under  military 
supervision.  The  House  Committee  on  Reconstruction  at 
Washington,  without  waiting  to  hear  from  Gen.  Meade,  who, 
on  the  spot,  was  investigating  these  complaints,  reported,  on 
March  10th,  in  favor  of  declaring  that  the  constitution  had 
been  ratified.  The  reasoning  era  ployed  to  sustain  this  conclusion 
would  be  incredible  if  it  were  not  of  record.     The  report  says: 


EECONSTKUCTION   IN  ALABAMA.  49 

"  Some  time  before  the  Alabama  election  the  committee  saw 
the  injustice  of  the  law  (meaning  the  provision  which  required 
a  majority  of  the  registered  electors  to  vote),  and  requested 
Congress  to  restore  the  majority  principle  in  the  vote  on  the 
constitution.  The  House  did  not  hesitate  to  perceive  the  in- 
justice and  passed  the  act  and  sent  it  to  the  Senate.  2%e 
Senate  suffered  the  act  to  sleep  on  their  files  for  two  months. 
They  then  (which  was  after  the  election  was  over)  took  it  up 
and  passed  it,  and  it  has  now  {after  the  election)  passed  both 
Houses.  The  principle  then  that  a  majority  of  votes  shall 
govern  has  been  restored  and  your  committee  can  see  tio  reason 
why  it  should  not  govern  in  this  easeJ^  This  was  arguing  that 
the  result  of  an  election  could  be  changed  by  a  subsequent 
change  of  the  law  under  which  it  was  held. 

Thirteen  days  after  this  Gen.  Meade  made  his  report.  In 
it  he  says,  that  some  of  the  Alabama  Republicans  had  asked 
him  to  report  that  the  returns,  "when  properly  explained, 
will  show  a  majority  of  the  registered  voters  as  being  in  favor 
of  this  measure.''  He  "regretted  extremely"  that  he  could 
not  concur  in  this  view,  and  said,  "  I  cannot  but  look  on  the 
result  of  the  recent  election  as  the  expression  of  opinion,  that 
the  registered  voters  do  not  desire  to  be  restored  under  the 
Constitution  submitted  to  them ;  and,  in  view  of  the  recent 
action  of  Congress  giving  ratification  to  a  majority  of  the 
votes  cast,  I  would  prefer  seeing  the  Convention  reassembled 
for  a  revision  of  the  Constitution  and  the  revised  Constitution 
submitted  to  the  people  under  the  new  lawJ'  The  General 
did  not  ao;ree  with  the  Committee  of  the  House  that  the  new 
laio  affected  the  old  election.  He  goes  on  to  say,  ''The  Con- 
stitution fails  of  ratification  by  8,114  votes." 

He  then  points  out  reasons  which  he  thinks  made  the  Con- 
stitution less  acceptable  than  the  Convention,  and  concluded 
by  showing  that — 

"Convention  had  white  votes, 18,553 

While  Constitution  had  only      5.802 

Loss  in  white  vote, 12,751 " 

The  reader,  if  he  lives  out  of  the  state,  may  possibly  have 
4 


50  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

forgotten  what  dow  occurred;  but  on  the  minds  of  the  people 
of  Alabama  an  impression  was  made  never  to  be  erased. 
Congress  did  not  venture  to  declare  that  Gen.  Meade's  report 
did  not  truthfully  state  the  results  of  the  election,  but, 
waiting  till  certain  others  of  the  states  had  held  their  elec- 
tions under  the  new  law,  it  placed  Alabama  with  these  and 
admitted  them  all  in  one  act,  declaring  in  the  preamble  that 
they  had  adopted  their  Constitutions  "by  large  majoiities  of 
the  votes  cast  at  the  elections  held  for  the  ratitication  or  rejec- 
tion of  the  same;''  whereas  the  law  governing  the  Alabama 
election.  Act  of  March  23d,  1867,  Sec.  5,  required  tliat  there 
should  be  cast  "a  majority  of  the  votes  of  the  registered 
voters  voting  upon  the  question  of  such  ratification." 

In  the  face  of  the  indisputable  fact  that  the  Constitution 
was  defeated  according  to  this  law  by  an  overwhelming 
majority,  and  of  the  peculiar  wording,  as  above  given,  of  this 
act  of  admission,  the  inference  is,  that  members  reconciled 
themselves  to  vote  for  this  bill  upon  the  theory  avowed  in 
passing  the  original  reconstruction  acts,  viz. :  that  the  whole 
question  was  "absolutely  in  the  hands  of  Congress,"  and  it 
could  do  as  it  pleased.  But  if  this  was  the  theory  of  the 
bill,  then  the  only  possible  answer  to  the  charge  of  misleading 
the  Conservatives  in  Alabama,  who  relied  upon  the  law  as  it 
was  written,  is  that  "  no  faith  is  to  be  kept  with  heretics." 

II.     WHAT  THE   REPUBLICANS   DID   WHEN   IN   CONTROL. 

The  newly-made  legislators  were  fond  of  their  avocation. 
They  held  three  sessions  in  their  first  year,  beginning  respect- 
ively July  13th,  September  16th  and  November  2d.  There 
were  twenty-six  negroes  in  the  House  and  one  in  the  Senate. 
They  were,  of  course,  unfitted  by  want  of  education  for  the 
high  positions  they  occupied;  but  so  much  deference  was 
shown  to  them  and  the  constituencies  behind  them  that  they 
naturally  supposed  the  supremacy  of  the  black  man's  party 
was  secure.  They  had  been  led  out  of  captivity  into  the 
promised  land,  and  now  it  was  to  be  theirs  forever.  That 
this  was  the  sentiment  that  animated  them  was  abundantly 
manifest  by  the  debates.     It  is  much  to  their  credit  that, 


RECONSTEUCTIOX   IN  ALABAMA.  51 

while  under  the  belief  that  power  was  irrevocably  theirs, 
they  cousentecl,  at  the  first  session  of  the  Legislature,  to  the 
enactment  of  a  law  relieving  of  disabilities  those  who  were 
disfranchised  by  the  State  Constitution.  Gov.  W.  H.  Suv-tb/ 
was  understood  to  be  largely  instrumental  in  securiiifi^J 'th(5 
passage  of  the  bill. 

State  Credit. 

In  the  first  report  made  by  the  Republican  State  Auditor, 
Mr.  R.  M.  Reynolds,  .he  said  :  "  Alabama  stands  in  a  proud 
position  in  the  financial  world.  .  .  .  Nothing  but  gross 
mismanagement  of  her  finances  wnll  cause  her  credit  to 
decline.'^  Of  that  credit  the  State  had  always  been  proud. 
More  than  one  installment  of  gold  was  sent  through  the  block- 
ade during  the  war  to  pay  interest  on  her  foreign  debt. 

The  new  state  government  would  have  been,  even  if  hon- 
estly and  carefully  administered,  more  expensive  than  that 
which  it  had  displaced.  New  offices  had  been  created —  a 
Lieutenant-Governor,  a  Commissioner  of  Industrial  Re- 
sources, and  a  body,  with  legislative  powers,  called  the  Board 
of  Education.  Pay  and  salaries,  too,  had  been  increased  all 
along  the  line;  but  the  figures  thus  added  to  expenditures  are 
not  worth  compiling  in  view  of  the  vast  indebtedness  that 
was  soon  to  overwhelm  the  state  and  drive  her  for  years  out 
of  the  money  markets  of  the  world.  In  the  first  report  of 
Mr.  Reynolds  the 

Bonded  debt  of  the  state  was $5,270,000.00 

Educational  fund  and  miscellaneous, 3,085,683.51 


$8,355,6S3.51 


The  legislative  schemes  already  embarked  had  not  yet 
begun  to  bear  fruit. 

During  the  session  beginning  in  July,  1868,  there  was  no 
very  important  legislation.  Per  diem  pay  and  mileage  seemed 
to  be  satisfactory.  At  the  second  session  a  state  aid  law,  en- 
dorsing bonds  for  railroad  companies  under  certain  conditions, 
which  had  been  passed  by  the  preceding  state  government, 
February  19th,  1867,  was  taken  up,  amended  and  the  aid 


52    '  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

.  increased  from  |12,000  to  ^1 6,000  a  mile.  The  old  law  was 
said  to  be  useless.  No  one  would  comply  with  its  conditions. 
But  if  the  state  would  endorse  to  the  extent  of  sixteen 
^•vv«tead  of  twelve  thousand  dollars  per  mile,  capitalists  from 
^jYg^j^rth  and  from  Europe  were  ready,  it  was  claimed,  with 
energy  Enterprise  and  money  to  build  railroads  that  would 
at  once' Jlevelop  the  resources  of  the  state,  and  in  a  few  years 
Alabai^  would  rival  Pennsylvania.  The  theory  of  the  law 
was  that  these  financiers  were  to  put  money  enough  into  ea(;h 
enterprise  to  build  the  first  twenty  miles  of  the  road  and 
thus  secure  the  state  against  loss.  But  the  fact  was  that  most 
of  the  pretended  capitalists  had  nothing  but  audacity  and  a 
clever  knack  of  manipulating  corrupt  legislatures.  Some 
had  not  even  money  enough  with  which  to  pay  bribes,  and 
were  forced  to  rely  on  such  advances  as  they  might  obtain,  on 
the  faith  of  tlieir  schemes,  from  the  confederates,  who  were 
to  handle  the  bonds  of  the  state.  Bribery  in  the  Legislature 
at  first  is  claimed  to  have  been  so  cheap  that  one  member  was 
reported  to  have  said  that  some  of  his  brethren  "sold  their 
votes  for  prices  that  would  have  disgraced  a  negro  in  the 
time  of  slavery."  Various  roads  were  begun,  constructed, 
after  a  fashion,  for  a  few  miles  and  then  abandoned.  The 
schemers  had  no  funds  of  their  own,  or,  if  they  had,  they 
did  not  invest  them  in  Alabama.  They  swore  falsely  to  get 
the  bonds  and  always  got  them  ;  sometimes  for  many  miles 
that  had  not  been  touched. 

MILES. 

The  E.  A.  &  C.  was  built 25 

The  Selma  &  Gulf, 40 

Marion  &  Memphis 45 

Savannah  &  Memphis, 40 

Selma  &  New  Orleans, 20 

Only  one  road  begun  under  this  law  was  completed,  the  A. 
&  C.  It  was  two  hundred  and  ninety-five  miles  in  length, 
and  entitled  by  the  statute  to  endorsement  ivhen  completed  to 
the  extent  of  §4,420,000.  But,  when  yet  lacking  one  hun- 
dred miles  of  completion,  it  had  received,  as  shown  by  the 
report  made  to  the  House  of  Representatives  by  B.  B.  Lewis, 
Chairman  in  1873,  bonds  to  the  extent  of  $5,300,000;  and, 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  ALABAMA.  53 

not  even  satisfied  with  these,  it  demanded  of  the  Legislature 
$2,000,000  of  straight  bonds- and  got  them. 

Governor  W.  H.  Smith  issued  most  6  P  these^  bonds,  inchid- 
ing  the  over-issue  to  the  A..  &  C  No  one  believes-  ir  ^ 
accepted  any  bribe,  but  he  was  criminally  careless.  /-^In  a  let- 
ter dated  April  3d,  1871,  after  explaining  the  over-issues,  he 
said,  "I  admit  that  if  I  had  attended  strictly  to  the  endorse- 
ment and  issue  of  these  bonds  that  all  this  never  would  have 
occurred/'  He  trusted  the  railroad  company  and  the  bond 
brokers,  who  were  leagued  together  to  rob  the  state.  Besides 
the  general  state  aid  law,  many  special  acts  were  passed. 
February  25th,  1870,  a  bill  authorizing  the  state  to  endorse 
for  the  M.  &  M.  R.  R.  Co.  to  the  extent  of  ^2,500;  March 
3d,  1870,  an  additional  endorsement  of  $6,000  per  mile  for 
the  S.  &  N.  R.  R.  Co.  was  provided  for.  The  Legislature 
had  also,  December  31st,  1868,  authorized  cities  and  towns 
to  subscribe.  From  these  the  adventurers  now  secured  large 
amounts  of  bonds  to  be  issued  by  counties  lying  along  the 
lines  of  their  projected  roads;  from  Lee  County,  $275,000; 
Pickens,  §80,000;  Chambers,8l50,000;Tallapoosa,$125,000; 
Randolph,  §100,000;  Dallas,  $140,000.  The  bonds  were 
received  and  sold,  but  the  roads  were  never  completed.  Sev- 
eral cities  and  towns  also  subscribed. 

The  Liberality  of  the   Colored  Man, 

Whenever  the  question  of  subscription  was  before  the 
people,  the  colored  man,  paying  little  or  no  taxes,  was  relied 
upon  to  vote  down  the  unwilling  tax-payer.  Some  striking 
instances  of  the  liberality  of  the  negro  in  official  position  are 
furnished  the  writer  by  Judge  P.  G.  Wood,  of  Dallas  County, 
who,  as  Probate  Judge,  is  in  charge  of  the  books  and  speaks 
advisedly.     These  are  here  given  as  samples. 

The  Court  of  County  Commissioners  has  entire  control  of 
county  finances.  Four  Republicans  with  the  Probate  Judge 
composed  this  court  in  Dallas  County,  two  white  and  two 
colored,  and  one  of  the  latter  alwaj^s  signed  his  mark  because 
he  could  not  write.  September  11th,  1864,  a  question  being 
before  the  court  of  the  rate  of  taxation,  both  the  whites  voted 


54  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

for  the  lower  and  both  the  colored  men  voted  for  the  higher 
rate,  *' although  their  names  do  not  appear  on  the  tax 
books/' 
^.^^This  same  court  elected  a  physician  for  the  jail  prisoners 
\  ^^^(*)[7^  ^6^'  y^^LV.  The  Slieriff,  who  was  jailer,  denied  their 
rie-ht  to  e^^'  refused  admittance  to  their  physician  and  em- 
ployed c>3  himself.  On  September  4th,  1874,  the  court 
allowed  ^^  claim  of  its  doctor,  who  had  not  performed  the 
service?,  and  on  the  same  day  allowed  the  claim  of  the  Sher- 
iff's doctor,  who  had.     ^'  Equality  is  equity." 

This  county,  though  in  that  respect  it  was  by  no  means 
alone,  was  blessed  with  illiterate  office-holders  ;  and  it  was 
one  of  the  richest  counties  in  the  state.  November  7th,  1871, 
it  elected  nine  colored  Justices  of  the  Peace,  several  of  whom 
could  scarcely  write  their  names.  One  of  them  made  no 
claim  to  education,  and,  scorning  all  false  pretences,  made  his 
cross-mark  on  his  official  bond.  A  Justice  of  the  Peace  in 
Alabama  has  authority  among  other  things,  to  try  posses- 
sory actions  relating  to  lands  of  whatever  value,  and  may  in- 
carcerate to  await  trial,  or  discharge  even  persons  accused  of 
murder.  At  the  same  time,  November  7th,  1871,  three 
colored  constables  were  elected,  who  signed  their  official  bonds 
by  cross-marks.  Constables  execute  process  civil  and  crim- 
inal, including  such  as  require  sales  of  pro^^erty  to  satisfy 
executions. 

That  it  was  deemed  the  proper  thing  in  those  days  to  put 
illiterates  in  high  and  responsible  positions  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  the  Republican  Governor,  Lewis,  in  December,  1873, 
appointed  to  a  vacancy  in  the  Court  of  County  Commis- 
sioners of  Dallas,  Oscar  Huntley,  who  could  not  write.  His 
name  is  signed  to  the  minutes  of  the  court  by  his  cross-mark, 
and  he  possessed  not  more  than  the  average  capacity  of  the 
uneducated  colored  man.  These  and  other  like  occurrences 
elsewhere  in  the  state  demonstrate  that  ^'the  black  man's 
party,"  the  formation  of  which  Mr.  Greeley  had  feared,  was 
in  full  control ;  for  not  only  did  the  negroes  themselves  select 
of  their  own  color  incompetent  men  for  office,  but  they  com- 
pelled their  Governor  to  do  the  same  thing.  A  representative 
Republic  is  representative  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name. 


KECONSTRUCTION   IN  ALABAMA.      _  55 

The  Election  of  1870. 

In  November,  1870,  an  election  was  held  for  Governor 
and  other  officers,  and  for  members  of  the  Lower  House  of 
the  Legislature.  The  Senators  all  held  over,  refusing  to  clas- 
sify and  allow  half  of  their  number  to  be  elected,  as  the 
Democrats  contended  their  Constitution  required.  The  can- 
vass was  an  exciting  one.  During  the  previous  year  certain 
leading  Republicans  had  petitioned  Gov.  Smith  to  call  out 
the  negro  militia  under  the  pretence  of  enforcing  the  law. 
The  Governor,  as  his  letter  hereafter  quoted  shows,  under- 
stood the  motive  perfectly.  He  was  a  Republican  and  desired 
the  success  of  his  party;  but  he  refused  to  enter  into  the  plans 
of  these  conspirators  against  the  peace  of  the  state,  and,  in 
his  message  of  November  15th,  1869,  replied  to  this  demand, 
without  mentioning  it,  by  the  statement :  "  Nowhere  have  the 
courts  been  interrupted.  No  resistance  has  been  encountered 
by  officers  of  court  in  their  efforts  to  discharge  the  duties  im- 
posed upon  them  by  law."  Eight  months  afterwards,  when 
the  Republican  primaries  began  to  be  held,  the  County  Con- 
vention of  Madison,  dominated  by  certain  of  these  men, 
criticised  the  Governor  for  not  having  complied  with  their 
demand.  In  a  letter  to  the  Huntsville  Advocate,  dated  July 
25th,  1870,  Governor  Smith  replied,  denouncing  '^  Geo.  E. 
"  Spencer  (Senator),  J.  D.  Sibley,  J.  J.  Hinds  and  others"  as 
systematically  uttering  every  conceivable  falsehood.  .  .  . 
During  my  entire  administration  of  the  State  Government 
but  one  officer  has  certified  to  me  that  he  was  unable,  on  ac- 
count of  lawlessness,  to  execute  his  official  duties.  That  officer 
was  the  Sheriff  of  Morgan  Coui^.  I  immediately  made 
application  to  Gen.  Crawford  for  Troops.  They  were  sent, 
and  the  said  sheriff  refused  their  assistance.  .  .  .  My 
candid  opinion  is  that  Sibley  does  not  want  the  law  exe- 
cuted, because  that  would  put  down  crime,  and  crime  is  his 
life's  blood.  Re  would  like  very  much  to  have  a  ku-klux  out- 
rage every  week  to  assist  him  in  keeping  up  strife  between  the 
whites  and  the  blacks,  that  he  might  be  more  certain  of  the  votes 
of  the  latter.  He  tvould  like  to  have  a  feiv  colored  men  killed 
every  week  to  furnish  semblance  of  truth  to  Spencer^  s  libels  upon 


5G  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

the  people  of  the  state  generally.  The  man  acts  as  though 
he  thought  it  Avould  be  his  duty  to  insult  every  man  who  ever 
had  any  connection  with  the  rebellion.  ...  It  is  but  pro- 
per in  this  connection  that  I  should  speak  in  strong  terms 
of  condemnation  of  the  conduct  of  two  ichite  men  in  Taskegee 
a  few  days  ago  in  advising  the  colored  men  to  resist  the  author- 
ity of  the  Sheriff;  and  these  are  not  hi-Jdnx,  but  are  .Republi- 
cans.^' The  author  of  this  letter  was  not  only  a  Republican 
Governor,  but  he  was  overwhelmingly  renominated  shortlj^ 
afterwards. 

In  November  Lindsay  and  the  other  Democratic  candidates 
for  state  offices  were  elected.  Lindsay's  majority  for  Govei-nor 
was  decided,  but  Gov.  Smith  began  a  contest  by  suing  out  an 
injunction,  which  was  served  on  R.  N.  Barr,  President  of  the 
Senate.  As  the  other  Republican  nominees  had  not  contested 
the  election  of  their  opponents,  the  Democratic  Lieutenant- 
Governor  elect,  Moren,  took  his  seat  as  presiding  officer  of 
the  Senate,  and  as  such  counted  the  vote.  Lindsay  was  de- 
clared legally  elected.  Smith's  attorneys  had  not  enjoined 
Moren.  But  Governor  Smith  barricaded  himself  in  the 
Executive  chamber,  and,  surrounding  it  by  United  States 
troops,  refused  to  surrender  the  office.  Federal  troops  were 
always  present  in  those  days  to  render  prompt  obedience  to 
the  orders  of  the  Republican  Governor.  December  6th, 
Judge  J.  Q.  Smith,  a  Republican  judge,  issued  a  notice  to 
Governor  Smith  to  show  cause  why  he  should  not  surrender 
the  books  and  papers  of  the  office.  Smith  appeared  and  aban- 
doned his  contest. 

Governor  Lindsay's  administration  was  not  a  success.  In- 
deed, an  abler  man  than  he  might  well  have  failed.  The 
Lower  House  was  Democratic,  but  the  Senate  was  Republican. 
The  state  had  already  defaulted.  There  was  no  money  to  pay 
interest  with  and  the  credit  of  the  state  was  at  a  low  ebb. 

Governor  Lindsay  was  not  only  unable  to  cope  with  the 
situation,  but  was  himself  guilty  of  carelessness.  He  per- 
mitted himself  to  be  duped,~by  false  affidavits,  into  endorsing 
$400,000  of  the  bonds  of  the  E.  A.  &  C.  R.  R.,  when  it  had 
liot  been  built  as  required  by  that  Act.  The  Democrats  in 
convention,  in  1872,  not  only  failed  to  renominate  Gov.Lind- 


KECONSTKUCTION   IN  ALABAMA.  57 

say,  as  is  the  party  custom  in  the  state  for  one  term,  but  they 
also  omitted  to  endorse  his  administration.  It  was  fortunate, 
however,  that  in  1870  they  had  elected  a  majority  of  the*^ 
Lower  House  in  the  Legislature,  for  at  the  session  of  1870-71 
another  set  of  financiers  had  made  up  their  minds  to  come 
down  South  and  help  build  up  Alabama.  Their  demand  was 
for  $5,000,000  with  which  to  set  furnaces  and  factories  going. 
They  were  too  late.  If  they  had  only  come  the  session  be- 
fore there  was  no  chance  for  a  bill  containing  $5,000,000, 
properly  pressed,  to  have  failed. 

Governor  Lewis, 

In  November,  1872,  Grant  carried  the  state  over  Greeley, 
and  at  the  same  election  D.  P.  Lewis,  a  Republican,  was 
elected  Governor.  The  Democrats  claimed  both  branches  of 
the  Legislature  according  to  the  returns ;  and  their  members- 
elect  met  in  the  chambers  at  the  capitol  as  provided  by  law. 
But  Senator  George  E.  Spencer,  the  same  who  had  quarreled 
with  Governor  Smith  for  not  calling  out  the  negro  militia, 
was  to  be  re-elected  at  this  session,  and,  on  his  advice,  the  Re- 
publicans assembled  what  was  called,  from  its  place  of  meet- 
ing, the  Court-House  Legislature,  claiming  that  they  had  a 
quorum  in  both  branches.  Governor  Lindsay  recognized  the 
Capitol  bodies.  This  Capitol  Legislature,  having  possession 
of  the  returns,  counted  the  votes  in  due  time  and  declared 
Lewis  elected  Governor.  Gov.  Lewis  accepted  the  count,  but 
repudiated  those  who  made  it,  and  recognized  the  Court-House 
bodies. 

Gov.  Lewis,  too,  called  for  United  States  troops,  and  they 
came.  In  a  letter  dated  Dec.  1st,  1872,  the  Governor  himself 
narrates  :  ''  I  telegraphed  Capt.  T.  B.  Weir,  7th  U.  S.  Cavalry, 
at  Opelika,  after  night  of  the  29th,  to  corn^  to  llontgomery 
with  all  disposable  force  by  first  train,  to  which  he  responded. 
Early  on  Saturday  fnorning  Capt.  Weir  arrived  with  thirty 
men  and  reported  to  Mr.  Strobach,  tvho  stationed  them  on  a 
vacant  lot  adjoining  the  Capitol,  where  they  are  now  quietly 
tentedj^ 

It  is  to  be  noted  here  that  this  was  four  years  after  Con- 


58  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

gress  had  declared  Alabama  rehabilitated  and  entitled  to  all 
the  rights  of  statehood. 

The  new  State  of  Montana  has  at  this  writing  (February, 
1889)  two  rival  bodies,  each  claiming  to  be  the  lawful  legis- 
lature. If,  when  this  case  arose,  Gov.  Toole  had  telegraphed 
for  United  States  troops,  and  they  had  come  by  first  train  and 
encamped  on  a  lot  adjoining  the  capitol  to  aid  the  Governor 
of  Montana  and  his  political  party,  the  case  would  have  been 
entirely  analogous  to  that  at  Montgomery  in  December,  1872. 

After  having  surrounded  his  capitol  with  United  States 
troops,  the  next  move  of  the  Chief  Executive  of  Alabama 
was  to  call  to  his  aid  the  Republican  Attorney-General  of  the 
United  States,  who  sent  a  telegram  proposing  terms  for  the 
settlement  of  the  dispute.  The  Governor,  in  his  letter  sub- 
mitting this  telegram  to  the  Capitol  Legislature,  denominated 
^' these  suggestions  as  a  gentle  intimation  of  the  convictions  of 
the  law  officer  of  the  United  States  Government  of  his  views.'' 

As  this  "gentle  intimation"  was  reinforced  by  United 
States  troops,  "quietly  tented  on  a  lot  adjoining  the  Capitol," 
the  Democrats  thought  there  was  nothing  left  but  to  submit. 

December  17,  1870,  both  Houses  organized  under  the 
Attorney-General's  plan.  This  left  the  Democrats  with  still 
a  majority  on  joint  ballot.  The  next  morning,  December  1 8th, 
the  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate,  McKinstry,  the  Kepubli- 
can  Lieutenant-Governor,  announced  that  he  had  changed 
his  mind,  and  concluded  that  the  Senate  could  not  be  organ- 
ized under  the  "  plan"  until  a  pending  contest  of  Miller,  Re- 
publican, against  Martin,  Democratic  incumbent,  was  decided. 

Hamilton,  Democrat,  appealed  from  the  decision  of  the 
chair.  McKinstry,  without  precedent  to  sustain  him,  refused 
to  allow  the  appeal  and  the  Democrats  submitted. 

Time  was  required  to  take  testimony  in  the  Miller-Martin 
case. 

During  the  interval  Edwards,  a  Democratic  Senator,  called 
home  by  sickness,  "paired"  on  the  Miller-Martin  contest  with 
Glass,  Republican.  Edwards  gone,  the  case  was  at  oncebrought 
on.  Glass  broke  his  pair  and  voted.  Parks,  a  Democrat, 
changed  his  vote  and  moved  a  re-consideration  to  get  time  to 
send  for  Edwards.      McKinstry  refusing   to  entertain    the 


RECONSTEUCTION   IN  ALABAMA.  59 

motion,  Parks  offered  to  put  it  himself,  but  his  colleagues 
begged  him  to  desist. 

So  McKiiistry,  riding  roughshod  over  the  law,  declared 
Miller,  Republican,  seated  from  a  Democratic  district. 

When  McKinstry  made  an  arbitrary  ruling  his  answer  to 
Democratic  protests  was  :  "  Gentlemen,  I  hope  you  do  not 
mean  violence.     If  you  do  I  will  leave  the  chair." 

The  meaning  of  this  was  only  too  plain.  United  States 
troops  were  hard  by,  ready  to  assist  the  Republican  presiding 
officer  if  the  Democrats,  who  constituted  a  majority  of  the 
Senate,  did  not  peaceably  submit  to  his  arbitrary  ruling.  No 
Anglo-Saxon  Legislative  body  had  ever  yet  so  tamely  bowed 
its  neck  to  the  yoke  of  a  master ;  unless  it  was  in  some  simi- 
larly situated  Southern  state,  but  the  once  proud  state  of 
Alabama  was  now  prostrate  in  the  dust.  Still  another  move 
was  necessary  to  re-elect  Senator  Spencer.  A  Democratic  mem- 
ber of  the  House,  socially  inclined,  after  indulging  in  liquor  with 
some  Rej)ublican  friends  the  night  before,  was  too  sick  to 
attend  the  election  next  day ;  and  so  Mr.  Geo.  E.  Spencer 
went  to  the  United  States  Senate  for  six  years  more.  The 
member  claimed  that  his  liquor  was  drugged. 

The  Judiciary. 

Never  was  the  will  of  the  voter  more  clearly  reflected  by 
his  servant  in  high  place  than  by  the  Republican  office-hold- 
er in  Alabama.  The  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  were  all 
Alabamians,  long  identified  with  the  state,  but,  w^ith  possibly  one 
exception,  they  bowed  to  what  were  supposed  to  be  the  prejudices 
of  the  dominant  element  in  their  party  with  as  much  deference  as 
did  Convention  and  Legislature.  They  decided  that  whites  and 
blacks  could  inter-marry.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  state 
convention  had  simply  voted  down  a  provision  to  prevent  in- 
ter-marriage. A  subsequent  Legislature  had  adopted  a  large 
body  of  pre-existing  law  without  having  observed,  perhaps, 
that  one  clause  forbade  inter-marriage  of  the  races.  It  will 
amuse  lawyers  to  know  that  the  learned  Alabama  Court  held 
that  this  law  was  nullified  by  the  Civil  Rights  Bill  passed 
by  Congress.     Of  course,  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 


QO  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

States  decided  diiFerently  when  a  case  was  brought  before  it. 
The  Alabama  Court  decided,  Judge  Saffold  dissenting,  that  the 
acts  of  Mr.  Spencer's  Court-House  Legislature  were  valid, 
though  even  the  Attorney-General's  figuring  left  their  Senate 
without  a  quorum.  It  also  decided  that  all  judgments  renderc  d 
in  the  state  during  the  war  were  void.  From  the  disastrous 
consequences  of  such  an  opinion  the  state  was  only  saved  by 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

In  the  days  we  write  of  a  young  law  student  in  Alabama 
asked  a  witty  ex-Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  if  he  would 
not  advise  him  to  make,  in  those  troublous  times,  a  special 
study  of  Constitutional  law.  "  No,"  was  the  reply,  "  I  ad- 
vise you  to  study  all  the  unconstitutional  law  you  can  find." 

Ignorance  of  the  law  on  the  part  of  those  in  Judicial 
position  was  so  common  as  of  itself  scarcely  to  cause  remark, 
except  among  lawyers.  Take,  as  a  sample,  the  criminal  Court 
of  the  City  of  Selma,  having  jurif^diction  extending  even  to 
capital  cases.  Its  first  Judge  was  one  Corbin,  an  old  Vir- 
ginian, a  bon  vivant  who  had  never  practiced  law  ;  and  its 
first  clerk  was  Roderick  Thomas,  a  colored  man,  who  had 
only  acquired  a  little  education  after  he  was  freed.  Corbin, 
after  the  loss  of  his  fortune,  concluded  to  be  a  Re})ublican 
and  a  Judge,  for  the  salary.  As  the  old  gentleman  sat  in 
Court,  contemplating  himself  and  his  grand  jurors,  the  ludi- 
crousness  of  the  situation  must  have  taken  strong  hold  of 
him,  and  this  it  probably  was  that  inspired  his  charge  to  the 
grand  jury,  July  27th,  1874,  from  which  we  make  a  short 
extract,  premising  that  it  is  a  fair  sample  of  the  whole  : 

"  Time  was,  and  not  very  distantly,  gentlemen,  when  this 
charge  was  done  up  and  delivered  in  grand  old  style  ;  when 
grand  old  judges,  robed  in  costly  black  silk  gowns  and  coiflPured 
with  huge  old  periwigs,  swelling  out  their  august  personages, 
were  escorted  into  the  Court-rooms  by  obsequious  sheriffs, 
bearing  high  before  them  and  with  stately  step  their  blazoned 
insignia  of  office.  .  .  .  Fair  ladies  and  courtly  old 
dames  of  pinguid  proportions,  in  rich  and  rustling  silk  bro- 
cades, flocked  to  grace  the  court-room  w^ith  their  enchanting 
presence  and  to  hear  the  august,  gowned  and  periwigged  old 
judges  ventilate  their  classic  literature  and  their  cultivated 


KECONSTRUCTION   IN  ALABAMA.  61 

oratory  in  the  grandiloquent  old  charge.  Not  French  or  Eng- 
lish soldiers,  in  leagued  alliance  of  deathly  war,  on  the  far- 
famed  heights  of  Balaklava,  moved  in  more  solemn  tramp  to 
martial  step,  huge  blasts  rippling  their  thrilling  echoes  up  the 
long  valley  and  precipitous  ravines  of  that  impregnable  Rus- 
sian fortress,  than  did  those  grand  old  judges  in  their  terrific 
charges  against  the  offenders  of  their  day,"  etc.,  etc.  Poor  old 
Judge  Corbin  !  Though  he  continued  to  vote  and  claim  fel- 
lowship with  his  party,  he  could  not  keep  step  with  them  in  all 
things;  so  they  abolished  his  court  and  re-established  it,  all 
to  put  another  in  the  judgeship.  The  learned  ex-judge,  a  few 
days  after  this  law  was  passed,  said  his  party  reminded  him 
of  "a.  parcel  of  pigs;  as  soon  as  one  got  an  ear  of  corn  the 
others  took  after  him  to  get  it  away." 

Judge  Corbin's  successor  was  his  former  Clerk  of  the  Court, 
the  colored  man  Roderick  Thomas.  So  it  could  not  have 
been  professional  ignorance  that  lost  the  old  judge  his  seat. 
He  knew  quite  as  much  law  and  ten  times  more  rhetoric  than 
Thomas.  But  Thomas  got  the  place  of  judge  of  the  Court 
that  had  jurisdiction  over  capital  cases ;  and  another  colored 
man  became  clerk,  with  no  more  qualifications  than  Thomas 
had. 


The  year  1874,  which  was  to  mark  another  era  in  the  his- 
tory of  Alabama,  had  now  come.  The  government  ^'  born  of 
the  bayonet"  had  been  in  existence  six  years.  A  general 
election  was  to  be  held  in  November,  and  both  parties  began 
early  to  prepare  for  the  conflict.  The  Republicans  who  rep- 
resented the  state  in  Congress  had  made  their  contributions 
at  an  early  date.  They  had  secured,  in  the  Act  of  March  28th, 
1874,  authority  for  the  President  to  issue  army  rations  and 
clothing  to  the  destitute  along  the  Alabama,  Tombigbee 
and  Warrior  Rivers,  all  in  Alabama ;  and,  to  carry  out  this 
and  a  similar  Act  relating  to  the  Mississippi,  four  hundred 
thousand  dollars  were  appropriated  by  the  Sundry  Civil  Act, 
approved  June  23d,  1874. 

It  may  be  as  well  here  to  give  the  history  of  this  adventure, 
which  was  based  on  the  pretense  of  a   disastrous  overflow. 


Q2  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

There  had  really  been  no  unusual  overflows  anywhere  in  the 
state.  The  money  sent  to  Alabama  was  distributed  as  an 
electioneering  fund;  some  of  it  at  points  like  Opelika,  which 
had  not  been  under  water  since  the  days  of  Noah's  flood.  This 
open  prostitution  of  public  funds,  became  a  most  effective 
weapon  in  the  hands  of  the  Democrats.  To  crown  the  mis- 
adventure, the  Republican  Governor,  Lewis,  probably  to 
stamp  with  the  seal  of  his  condemnation  the  folly  of  the  super- 
serviceable  politicians,  who  had  secured  this  hapless  appro})ri- 
ation,  in  his  message  to  the  Legislature,  just  after  the  election, 
took  occasion  to  say,  pointedly,  that  the  state  had  during  the 
year  been  "  free  from  floods." 

The  Republicans  renominated  Governor  Lewis  and  the 
Democrats  selected  as  their  candidate  George  S.  Houston. 
And  now  began  the  great  struggle  which  was  to  redeem  Ala- 
bama from  Republican  rule. 

The  state  was  bankrupt — its  credit  gone. 

Governor  Lewis  had  reported  to  the  I>/egislature,  November 
17th,  1873,  that  he  was  '^unable  to  sell  for  money  any 
of  the  state  bonds." 

The  debt,  which  had  been  at  the  beginning  of  Republican 
administration  in  the  state  S^^j356,083.51,  was  now,  as  appears 
by  the  official  report,  September  30th,  1874,  including  straight 
and  endorsed  railroad  bonds,  $25,503,593.30. 

City  and  county  indebtedness  had  in  many  cases  increased 
in  like  proportion,  with  no  betterments  to  show  for  expendi- 
tures. 

The  administration  of  public  affairs  in  the  state  for  many 
years  preceding  the  Civil  War  had  been  notably  simple  and 
economical.  Taxes  had  been  low,  honestly  collected  and 
faithftdly  applied. 

To  a  people  trained  in  such  a  school  of  government  the 
extravagance  and  corruption  now  everywhere  apparent, 
coupled  with  the  higher  rates  of  taxation  and  bankrupt  con- 
dition of  the  treasury,  were  appalling. 

More  intolerable  still  were  the  turmoil  and  strife  between 
whites  and  blacks,  created  and  kept  alive  by  those  who,  as 
the  Republican  Governor  Smith  had  said,  ^^ would  like  to 
have  a  few  colored  men  killed  every  week  to  furnish  a  sem- 


EECX)NSTRUCTION   IN  ALABAMA.  63 

blance  of  truth  to  Spencer's  libels  upon  the  people  of  the 
state  generally/'  as  well  as  to  make  them  more  "certain  of 
the  vote  of  the  negroes."  Not  only  was  immigration  repelled 
by  these  causes,  but  good  citizens  were  driven  out  of  the 
state.  It  is  absolutely  safe  to  say  that  Alabama  during  the 
six  years  of  Republican  rule  gained  practically  nothing  by 
immigration,  and  at  the  same  time  lost  more  inhabitants  by 
emigration  than  by  that  terrible  war,  which  destroyed  fully 
one-fifth  of  her  people  able  to  bear  arms.  Thousands  more 
were  now  resolved  to  leave  the  state  if,  after  another  and 
supreme  effort,  they  should  fail  to  rid  themselves  of  a  domi- 
nation that  was  blighting  all  hope  of  the  future.  Few  things 
are  more  difficult  than  to  overcome  political  prf^udices  as 
bitter  as  those  which  had  formerly  divided  the  white  people 
of  Alabama,  but  six  years  of  Republican  misrule  had  been, 
in  most  cases,  sufficient  for  the  purpose.  In  1874  the  people 
seemed  to  forget  that  they  had  ever  been  AVhigs  and  Demo- 
crats, Secessionists  and  Union  men ;  and  when  this  came  about 
the  days  of  the  black  man's  party  in  Alabama  were  num- 
bered. Although  the  whites  had  lost  over  twenty  thousand 
men  in  the  war  who  would  nosv  have  been  voting,  they  had 
in  the  state,  by  the  census  of  1870,  a  majority  of  7,6«51  of 
those  within  the  voting  age.  In  1880  this  majority,  as  the 
census  showed,  was  23,038,  and  by  the  coming  of  age  of  boys 
too  young  to  have  been  in  the  war,  the  white  voters  certainly 
outnumbered  the  blacks  in  1874  bv  over  ten  thousand. 

The  Republicans  had  forced  the  color  line  upon  an  unwil- 
ling people.  The  first  resolution  of  the  Democratic  platform 
of  July,  1874,  was  that  "the  radical  and  dominant  faction  of 
the  Republican  party  in  this  state  persistently  and  by  false 
and  fraudulent  representations  have  inflamed  the  passions  and 
prejudices  of  the  negroes,  as  a  race,  against  the  white  people, 
and  have  thereby  made  it  necessary  for  white  people  to  unite 
and  act  together  in  self-defense  and  for  the  preservation  of 
white  civilization." 

That  the  people  of  the  state  accepted  this  issue  in  this 
manner  is  the  rock  of  oifense  against  which  partisan  clamor 
in  distant  states  has  so  often  since  that  day  lashed  itself  into 
fury. 


64  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

The  campaign  of  1874  was  not  unattended  by  the  usual 
eiForts  to  inflame  the  public  mind  of  the  North  and  to  intimi- 
date Democratic  voters  at  home  by  the  display  of  Federal 
power,  both  civil  and  military.  Troops  were,  of  course, 
loudly  called  for.  Charles  Hayes,  a  member  of  Congress 
from  the  Eutaw  District,  published  a  long  list  of  Democratic 
outrages ;  and  additional  credence  was  given  to  his  narrative 
by  an  endorsement  of  his  character  by  Senator  Hawley,  of 
Connecticut.  So  promptly  were  these  statements  disproved, 
that  Mr.  Hawley  was  understood  to  have  virtually  recanted 
his  endorsement.  ^'L.  M.  J.,"  of  Montgomery,  who  was,  as 
it  afterwards  appeared,  a  certain  J.  M.  Levy,  wrote  a  letter 
to  the  Washington  Chronicle,  which  the  editor  appropriately 
headed  in  flaming  lines — 

'^ALABAMA— THE  CONFLICT  OF  RACES. 


Horrible  Assassination — The  Southern  Republicans  Imitate 
the  Indians  by  Symbolic  Scalping  of  their  Victims. 

The  Way  Negro  Insurrections  are  Produced  and  Proclaimed. 

Republicans,   both  White  and  Black,  Warned  not  to  take 
Part  in  the  Canvass. 

Murder,  Personal  Indignities.     Hell  itself  Broke  Loose,  and 

All  the  Devils  There. 

The  United  States  Asked  to  Protect  Her  Citizens." 

The  falsehoods  of  this  article  were  proven  by  certificates 
from  Probate  Judge  Geo.  Eely,  Deputy  Marshal  G.  B.  Ran- 
dolph, Clerk  of  the  City  Council  Hughes,  and  J.  A.  Miuuis, 
United  States  Attorney — all  Republicans. 

There  were,  during  the  year  1874,  conflicts  between  whites 
and  blacks,  in  which  both  parties  received  injuries  and  losses. 
These  were  incited,  Democrats  claimed,  by  Republican  leaders 
to  invoke  the  aid  of  Federal  authorities,  civil  and  military, 
in  the  pending  election.  It  certainly  was  natural  that  those 
Republicans  wlio  were  continually  crying  out  that  outrages 
were  committed  by  the  Democrats,  should  desire,  for  these 
complaints,   some  basis  of  fact  to  stand   on.     The  Spencer 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  ALABAMA.  65 

wing  of  the  Republican  party  were  undoubtedly  pursuing  the 
same  tactics  now  as  in  1870,  when  Governor  Smith  con- 
demned them  in  the  letter  from  which  extracts  have  been 
given.  The  Republican  press,  however,  claimed  that  the  acts 
which  were  to  bring  United  States  troops  into  the  state  to 
superintend  the  elections  always  resulted  from  the  folly  of  the 
Democrats,  who  did  not  desire  the  presence  of  troops,  and  that 
the  troubles  were  never  instigated  by  the  Republicans,  who 
were  anxious  to  have  the  troops.  The  political  training  of  the 
colored  man  had  been  such  that  it  was  perfectly  natural  for 
him  to  look  upon  United  States  soldiers,  when  he  saw  them 
come  into  the  state,  as  sent  to  see  that  he  voted  the  Republi- 
can ticket. 

Another  method  resorted  to  in  this  campaign  was  to  hand- 
cuff Democrats  and  carry  them  great  distances  and  by  devious 
routes  through  populous  portions  of  the  state,  exhibiting  them, 
by  the  w^ay,  in  such  manner  as  to  encourage  the  blacks  and 
intimidate  the  whites. 

The  United  States  Marshal,  having  warrants  against  two 
citizens  of  Choctaw  County,  in  order  to  make  his  act  more 
impressive,  descended  with  his  deputies  upon  the  County 
Democratic  Convention  while  in  session.  Having  marched 
his  prisoners  out,  instead  of  bringing  them  before  a  commit- 
ting officer  nearer  by,  he  carried  them  to  Mobile,  and  instead 
of  going  by  the  usual  route,  the  river,  or  by  the  next  most 
usually  traveled  w^ay,  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  Railroad,  he  con- 
veyed them  down  to  Selma,  across  to  Montgomery  and  then 
down  the  Mobile  road — over  three  hundred  miles — for  a  pre- 
liminary trial.  The  presence  of  troops  and  the  exhibition  of 
prisoners  handcuffed,  while  it  encouraged  the  negroes,  served 
greatly  to  intensify  the  zeal  of  Democrats.  Thousands  of 
whites  were  inspired  during  that  campaign  with  the  feeling 
that  their  future  homes  depended  u])on  the  result  of  the 
election.  The  aliens  among  the  Republican  leaders  also  felt 
that  their  future  habitations  depended  on  the  election,  for 
they  had  no  business  in  Alabama,  except  office-holding. 

The  Democrats  were  successful.  They  carried  by  over  ten 
thousand  majority  all  the  state  offices  and  they  elected  large 
majorities  in  both  branches  of  the  Legislature. 


QQ  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

The  clutch  of  the  carpet-bagger  was  broken  ;  most  of  them 
left  the  State;  and  there  was  at  once  peace  between  whites 
and  blacks.  A  new  Constitution  was  adopted.  Superfluous 
offices  were  abolished.  Salaries  were  cut  clown  and  fixed  by 
the  Constitution,  some  of  theui,  perhaps,  at  too  low  a  figure  ; 
and  it  is  believed  that,  in  many  respects,  the  limitations  upon 
the  power  of  the  Legislature  were  made  too  stringent.  It 
was  the  necessary  reaction,  the  swing  of  the  pendulum  from 
corruption  and  extravagance  to  the  severest  simplicity  and 
economy  in  government.  The  coi^equences  have  been  most 
happy.     The  credit  of  the  state  has  been  fully  restored. 

When  the  election  of  1874  took  place,  the  State  had  in  cir- 
culation one  million  dollars  of  obligations  called  "  Patton  '' 
or  "  Horse-shoe  money.'^  Although  this  was  receivable  for 
taxes,  and  bore  8  per  cent,  interest,  it  was  hawked  about,  be- 
fore the  election,  at  65  to  70  cents  on  the  dollar.  After  the 
Democrats  went  into  power  these  obligations  went  promptly 
to  par,  and  were  soon  paid  off  and  discharged. 

The  indebtedness  of  the  State,  which  was  in  1868,  $8,355,- 
683.51,  and  in  1874,  all  told,  $25,503,593.00,  was,  September 
30th,  1888,  $12,085,219.95,  and  every  outstanding  interest- 
bearing  bond  is  now  above  par.  To  replace  old  bonds  the 
Governor  recently  sold  4  per  cent,  bonds  amounting  to  $900- 
000  at  a  premium. 

Taxes  are  low.  Life,  liberty  and  property  are  protected 
by  law,  and  foreign  capital  is  coming  in.  The  property  in 
the  State  as  assessed  for  taxation  in  1876  was  ^135,585, 792,- 
00  ;  in  1888  it  was  $223,925,869.00. 

There  are  no  official  figures  that  show  accurately  the  num- 
ber of  white  and  colored  pupils  in  the  public  schools  during 
the  six  years  of  public  ascendancy,  but  ex  jyecle  Herculem. 

From  a  total  school  revenue  of  $524,621.68  in  1869,  the 
Republicans  paid  to  their  school  officials  other  than  teachers 
$75,173.92.  From  a  total  school  revenue  of  $539,209.04  in 
1888  (not  counting  funds  arising  from  local  taxation),  school 
officials  were  paid  $13,992.80. 

The  teachers  are  paid  partly  by  the  State  and  partly  from 
private  sources.  Attendance  upon  and  interest  in  these 
schools  is  rapidly  growing. 


RECONSTRUCTION   IN  ALABAMA.  67 

White.  Colored. 

In  1877  attendance  was    ....    88,622 54,991) 

"  1888        "  "       .....    159,671 98,919 

The  Census  showed  the  following  number  of  whites  and 
blacks  within  school  age  : 

White.  Colored. 

1870 229,139 157,918. 

1880 217,320 170,449. 

This  decrease  in  the  number  of  white  children  (11,819) 
while  the  blacks  were  increasing  (12,531)  though,  probably 
due,  in  some  slight  degree,  to  inaccuracies  in  the  census,  is 
to  be  accounted  for  by  the  exodus  of  whites  in  the  winters  of 
1871,  '72  and  '73,  fleeing  from  bad  government. 

The  increase  in  the  number  of  schools  from  1870,  when 
the  state  was  under  the  Republican  rule,  to  1880,  when  it  had 
been  six  years  under  the  Democratic  control,  as  shown  by  the 
same  census  returns  was  as  follows  : 

Schools.  White.  Colored. 

1870 1355 490 

1880 3085 1512 

The  census  of  1890,  now  near  at  hand,  w  ill  show  a  gratify- 
ing increase  in  the  value  of  properties  held  by  colored  men. 

It  may  be  mentioned  as  a  significant  fact  that  Nathan 
Alexander,  recently  appointed  by  President  Harrison  as  Re- 
ceiver of  Public  Monies  at  Montgomery,  gave  a  bond  of 
$60,000,  and  it  is  said  that  all  his  bondsmen  are  colored 
men.     They  qualified  in  the  sum  of  $120,000. 

The  colored  population  is  progressing  everywhere  in  the 
state — slowly  in  the  black-belt,  where  the  negro  predominates; 
much  more  rapidly  in  the  counties  where  the  whites  out- 
number the  blacks.  Their  progress  is  marked  in  morality, 
intelligence  and  property.  If  the  next  census  shall  corrobo- 
rate, as  it  will,  the  truth  of  this  observation,  viz.:  that  the 
negro  prospers  most  where  the  power  and  influence  of  the 
white  man  is  greatest,  then  it  is  submitted  that  the  fair  con- 
clusion is  that,  though  Southern  whites  do  not  wish  to  be 
governed  by  a  black  man's  party,  yet  they  are,  in  fact,  the 
best  friends  the  negro  has. 


gg  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

A  careful  study  of  the  life  of  Abraham  Lincoln  must 
always  cause  fresh  regret  to  well  up  in  the  heart  of  every 
Southerner  as  often  as  he  shall  recur  to  the  awful  deed  of  his 
assassination.  Mr.  Lincoln  would  have  left  suffrage  to  the 
states  to  regulate.  Then  it  would  have  come  to  the  colored 
man  gradually  and  as  he  was  fitted  for  it ;  and  the  negro 
would  have  regarded  the  Southern  white  man,  who  conferred 
it,  as  his  friend.  As  it  was,  suffrage  came  to  the  colored  man 
through  an  act  of  Congress.  That  act  would  never  have 
been  passed  if  the  majority  of  Southern  white  men  had  been 
voting  with  the  Republican  party.  It  was  passed  because 
the  colored  men  were  expected  to  vote  against  the  views  of 
the  electors  legally  qualified  by  state  laws. 

To  see  that  the  newly-made  voters  performed  this  duty  the 
Republican  party  sent  gentlemen  like  Messrs.  Wilson  and  Kel- 
ley  down  South  to  tell  them  that  they  must  all  vote  together 
for  the  party  that  gave  them  the  ballot.  Already  among  them 
were  other  men,  correctly  described  by  Senator  Fessenden  as 
"  adventurers,  and  broken-down  preachers  and  politicians,'* 
consorting,  day  and  night,  with  these  ignorant  freedmen,  poi- 
soning their  minds  against  their  white  neighbors  and  mustering 
them,  with  uplifted  hands  in  midnight  meetings,  into  a  politi- 
cal league,  which,  by  its  very  constitution,  excluded  most  of 
the  Southern  whites.  Under  these  circumstances  the  domi- 
nation of  either  a  black  man's  party  or  a  white  man's  party 
was  not  to  be  avoided. 

The  facts  of  history  are  that  the  people  of  Alabama,  pros- 
trated by  an  unsuccessful  war,  and  divided  by  the  bitter 
memories  of  the  past,  were  very  loth  to  oppose  what  seemed 
to  be  the  behests  of  the  strongest  government  man  had  ever 
seen.  They  were  utterly  unable  to  unite  and  agree  on  any 
policy  whatever.  For  six  long  years  they  suffered  degrada- 
tion, poverty  and  detraction,  before  they  made  up  their  minds 
to  come  together  to  assert,  as  they  finally  did,  their  supreiAacy. 
in  numbers,  wealth,  education  and  moral  power.  They  have 
now  in  successful  operation  a  g^overnment  that,  for  the  pro- 
tection it  affords  to  the  lives,  liberties  and  property  of  all  its 
people,  white  and  black,  may  safely  challenge  comparison 
with  that  of  any  state  in  the  Union.     Education  and   the 


EECONSTKUCTION  IN  ALABAMA.  69 

liberalizing  iDfluences  of  the  age,  to  which  Alabama  is  fully 
alive,  will  gradually,  aud  surely,  and  safely  solve  every  prob- 
lem that  can  arise  within  her  borders  if  she  herself  is  left  to 
deal  with  them.  Will  the  American  people,  in  the  liglit  of 
the  terrible  experience  of  the  past,  permit  outside  influences 
to  prevent  this  consummation  ? 

Hilary  A.  Herbert. 


CHAPTER  III. 

RECONSTRUCTION   IN   NORTH   CAROLINA. 

THE  greatest  physical  punishment  we  can  inflict  upon  man 
is  death.  There  is  a  vast  difference  in  the  atrocity  of 
crimes  which  we  call  capital,  but  the  penalty  is  the  same. 
The  man  who  slays  his  parent,  his  child  or  his  brother  is 
simply  handed,  as  he  is  for  the  murder  of  a  stranger.  Hap- 
pily, however,  public  sentiment  superadds  something  to  the 
penalties  of  such  offences,  by  holding  up  the  perpetrators 
to  the  execration  of  mankind.  So  it  is  with  many  offences 
against  the  social  or  political  laws  of  civilized  communities  ; 
for  the  infraction  of  which,  in  the  nature  of  things,  no  ade- 
quate punishment  is  provided.  The  heinousness  of  such 
offences  consists  in  an  element  of  faithlessness — -a  betrayal 
of  trust— treachery. 

The  destruction  of  the  flock  by  the  shepherd  ;  the  robbing 
of  the  ward  by  the  guardian  ;  the  scandalizing  of  religion  by 
a  dissolute  priest — are  all  crimes  which  find  their  most  ap- 
propriate puwishment  in  that  public  contempt  which  is 
society's   excommunication. 

In  this  catalogue  is  to  be  placed  the  betrayal  of  constitutional 
liberty,  in  its  supreme  home  and  by  its  especial  guardians,  in 
what  is  falsely  termed  the  rrconstructicm  of  the  Southern  states. 

This  was  a  crime  against  the  principles  of  free  government 
for  Avhich  no  adequate  punishment  is  provided  by  law.  In 
fact,  the  criminals  assumed  to  be  above  the  law  which  they 
enacted,  and  the  law  itself  was  the  crime. 

The  criminals  sat  in  the  law-making  chamber,  on  the 
bench  and  in  the  jury-box,  instead  of  standing  in  the  dock. 

It  is  with  the  hope  that  at  this  distance  and  in  these  more 
dispassionate  times,  I  -may  aid  in  directing  upon  that 
70 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.  71 

movement  at  least  a  portion  of  that  execration  which  it  so 
richly  deserves,  that  I  have  consented  to  write  this  article. 

It  is  an  episode  in  American  history  that  not  only  should 
not  be  forgotten,  but  which  deserves  to  be  studied  by  every 
considerate  patriot  in  the  United  States. 

It  is  not  necessary  or  pertinent  to  argue  the  original  question 
of  the  right  of  a  state  to  secede.  In  the  very  brief  allusion 
I  shall  make  to  the  subject,*  I  propose  to  treat  it  from  the 
Northern  standpoint :  as  settled,  and  that  such  a  right  never 
existed  under  the  unamended  Constitution.  With  this  under- 
standing I  shall  submit  a  few  observations  on  the  legality  and 
propriety  of  the  reconstruction  acts  of  1867. 

The  Southern  states,  believing  they  had  a  right  to  secede 
and  depart  from  the  Union,  attempted  to  do  so  by  repealing 
the  ordinances  of  their  conventions  by  which  they  had  sever- 
ally accepted  the  Constitution  and  become  members  of  the 
Union.  The  remaining  states,  possessed  of  the  autonomy  of 
the  Federal  Government,  said  "No,  you  cannot  do  that:  your 
ordinances  of  repeal  are  void  ;  you  are  still  in  the  Union  and 
subject  to  the  Constitution,  and  your  attempt  to  maintain  the 
validity  of  your  ordinances  by  force  is  simply  insurrection 
and  rebellion,  which  we  are  bound  by  the  constitution  to  sup- 
press.'^ Accordingly  they  waged  war  to  suppress  it  and  did 
suppress  it.  The  slogan  from  the  day  when  the  first  ordinance 
of  secession  was  passed  until  the  firing  of  the  last  shot  in  the 
war,  had  been  the  restoration  of  the  Union.  That  had  been 
the  cry  everywhere  when  men  were  appealed  to  to  enlist :  — 
*^  Join  the  army  and  help  restore  the  Union.''  Was  it  not  re- 
stored when  the  "  rebellion  "  was  suppressed  and  Lee  gave 
up  his  sword  to  Grant  ?  Everybody  supposed  so  then  ;  but 
yet  it  seems  that  Congress  thought  not,  for  the  eleven  states 
were  declared  by  Congress  to  be  out  of  the  Union.  Now  it  is 
well  known  that  during  the  contest,  so  great  was  the  aversion 
of  the  popular  mind  to  the  coercing  of  sovereign  states  and. 
the  invasion  of  their  soil,  that  nothing  but  this  appeal  for  re- 
storing the  well-beloved  Union  could  have  succeeded  in  filling 
the  armies  which  were  necessary  to  effect  it.  When  that  war, 
therefore,  was  closed,  was  the  Constitution  in  any  way  changed? 
Or  were  the  relations  of  the  offending  states  themselves  to  the 


72  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Constitotlon  and  the  Union  (their  guilty  officials  having  been 
supplanted)  in  the  slightest  degree  altered?  Had  not  the 
Northern  idea  triumphed  ?  Was  not  the  Constitution  supreme 
over  the  insurrectionary  states  ?  If  so,  where  were  they,— in 
the  Union  or  out  of  the  Union  ?  There  were  only  two  ways 
by  which  they  could  possibly  have  gotten  out : — legally,  by 
virtue  of  their  ordinances  or  by  force  of  arras.  As  the  legality 
was  denied  and  the  resort  to  foit;e  was  a  failure,  the  conclusion 
is  unavoidable,  that  they  were  in  the  Union, — subject  to  all  the 
requirements  and  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  Consti- 
tution. 

Individuals  might  indeed  have  been  punished  if  they  had 
committed  treason,  but  the  states  in  their  corporate  capacity 
could  commit  no  wrong  and  therefore  were  not  subject  to  pun- 
ishment. Under  our  theory  their  existence  was  immortal,  and 
the  moment  the  individuals  who  had  done  wrong  in  the  name 
of  the  state  had  been  disposed  of,  they  moved  onward  with 
their  ancient  laws  and  institutions  restored, — subject  in  the 
language  of  Justice  Nelson,  ''only  to  the  new  reorganization, 
by  the  appointment  of  the  proper  officers  to  give  them  opera- 
tion and  eifect.'^  This  view  was  acknowledged  and  acted  u})on 
by  the  Government  in  all  its  branches,  from  18G5  to  1867. 
President  Johnson  (by  what  authority  is  not  precisely  known), 
immediately  after  the  termination  of  the  war,  appointed 
temporary  Governors  for  the  states,  with  authority  to  appoint 
all  needful  officials]  and  directed  them  to  call  prin:iary  con- 
ventions, form  Constitutions  and  reorganize  the  state  govern- 
ments in  all  their  branches ;  and  he  also  invited  them,  under 
their  new  Constitution,  to  elect  Senators  and  Representatives 
in  Congress  in  the  usual  and  regular  way.  This  was  promptly 
done  by  North  Carolina,  and  her  new  government  was  recog- 
nized by  the  President.  It  was  also  recognized  by  Congress 
in  so  far  as  the  submitting  of  the  proposed  Constitutional 
amendment  to  her  State  Legislature  for  ratification  was  a  recogr- 
nition.  So  far  also  as  any  cases  were  brought  before  it,  the 
judicial  authority  of  the  United  States  treated  these  state 
governments  as  valid.  In  the  case  of  Amy  Warwick,  before 
the  United  States  District  Court  of  Massacusetts,  Judge 
Sprague,  referring  to  the  supposed  effect  of  the  belligerent 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.  -  73 

rigliis  which  it  was  conceded  belonged  to  the  Government 
during  the  rebellion,  by  giving  it,  when  suppressed,  the  rights 
of  conquest,  used  the  following  language  :  "  This  is  an  error, 
a  grave  and  dangerous  error.  Belligerent  rights  cannot  be 
exercised  where  there  are  no  belligerents.  Conquest  of  a 
foreign  country  giv-es  absolute,  unlimited  sov^ereign  rights,  but 
no  nation  ever  makes  such  a  conquest  of  its  own  territory. 
If  a  hostile  power  either  from  without  or  within  takes  and 
holds  possession  and  dominion  over  any  portion  of  its  terri- 
tory, and  the  nation  by  force  of  arms  expel  or  overthrow  the 
enemy  and  suppresses  hostilities,  it  acquires  no  new  title  and 
merely  regains  the  possession  of  that  of  which  it  had  been 
temporarily  deprived.  The  nation  acquires  no  new  sovereignty, 
but  merely  maintains  its  previous  rights.  When  the  United 
States  takes  possession  of  a  rebel  district  they  merely  vindicate 
their  pre-existing  title.  Under  despotic  governments,  confis- 
cation may  be  unlimited  ;  but  under  our  government  the  right 
of  sovereignty  over  any  portion  of  a  state  is  given  and  limited 
by  the  Constitution,  and  will  be  the  same  after  the  war  as  it 
was  before."  If  this  doctrine  be  true,  and  I  imagine  it  will 
not  be  denied,  of  course  the  existing  state  authorities  at  the 
time  were  the  only  power  which  the  Courts  could  recognize 
for  the  administration  of  law, — for  the  Constitution  had  con- 
ferred none  in  such  cases  upon  the  Federal  Government. 

Still  stronger  is  the  language  of  Mr.  Justice  Nelson,  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  in  the  application  of  James  Egan  for  a  habeas 
corpus  to  be  discharged  from  imprisonment  imposed  upon 
him  by  the  sentence  of  a  military  commission  in  South  Caro- 
lina for  an  olfence  committed  within  that  state.  He  promptly 
discharged  the  prisoner  and  said  among  other  things  :  "  For 
all  that  appears,  the  civil,  local  courts  of  the  State  of  South 
Carolina  were  in  the  full  exercise  of  their  judicial  functions 
at  the  time  of  this  trial,  as  restored  by  the  suppression  of  the 
rebellion  some  seven  months  previously,  and  by  the  revival  of 
the  laws  and  the  reorganization  of  the  state,  in  obedience  to 
and  in  conformity  with  its  constitutional  duties  to  the  Union. 
Indeed,  long  previous  to  this,  the  provisional  government  had 
been  appointed  by  the  President,  who  is  Commander-in-chief 
of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States  (and  whose  will 


74 


WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 


under  martial  law  constituted  the  only  rule  of  action),  for 
the  special  purpose  of  changing  the  existing  state  of  things 
and  restoring  the  civil  government  over  the  people.  In  opera- 
tion of  this  appointment  a  new  Constitution  had  been  formed, 
a  Governor  and  Legislature  elected  under  it,  and  the  state 
placed  in  the  full  enjoyment,  or  entitled  to  the  full  enjoyment 
of  allher  constitutional  rights  and  privileges.  The  consti- 
tutional laws  of  the  Union  were  thereby  enjoyed  and  obeyed, 
and  were  as  authoritative  and  binding  over  the  people  of  the 
state  as  in  any  other  portion  of  the  country.  Indeed,  the 
moment  the  rebellion  was  suppressed  and  the  government 
growino-  out  of  it  was  subv^erted,  the  ancient  laws  resumed 
their  accustomed  sway,  subject  only  to  the  new  reorganization 
by  the  appointment  of  the  proper  officers  to  give  them  opera- 
tion and  effect. 

This  organization  and  appointment  of  public  functionaries, 
which  was  under  the  superintendence  and  direction  of  the 
President,  the  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy 
of  the  country,  and  who,  as  such,  had  previously  governed 
the  state  from  imperative  necessity  by  the  force  of  martial 
law,  had  already  taken  place,  and  the  necessity  no  longer 
existed. 

In  the  language  of  Mr.  Reverdy  Johnson,  who  wrote  the 
minority  report  upon  the  reconstruction  bills  :  ^'  We  submit 
that  nothing  could  be  more  conclusive  in  favor  of  the  doctrine 
for  which  they  are  cited  than  these  judgments," — that  is,  the 
doctrine  that  these  new  state  governments  were  both,  de  facto 
and  de  jure,  the  legal  and  proper  governments  of  the  states 
lately  in  insurrection. 

Notwithstanding  all  this.  Congress,  for  purely  partisan  pur- 
poses, proceeded  to  treat  these  states  as  outside  of  the  Union ; 
and  as  alien  communities  who  were  to  be  dealt  with  anew 
under  the  laws  of  conquest  and  admitted  to  the  Union  on 
conditions  of  its  own  imposing.  They  happened  to  be  Demo- 
cratic in  their  politics :  and  it  was  not  desirable  to  have  the 
Union  restored  by  the  admission  of  eleven  Democratic  states ; 
that  would  seriously  endanger  the  Republican  party. 

They  could  not  longer  refuse  to  admit  them  to  representa- 
tion in  Congress^  which  was  the  obvious  constitutional  right 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.  75 

of  these  states,  but  they  determined  ou  couditions  which  would 
strengthen,  not  weaken,  the  Republican  party.  To  do  this 
they  dissolved  the  Union  by  an  Act  of  Congress,  declaring  that 
as  they  were  out,  they  should  only  be  readmitted  on  the 
formation  of  new  constitutions  and  the  adoption  of  certain 
amendments  to  the  Federal  Constitution.  They  were  to  be 
placed  under  military  rule,  every  vestige  of  civil  authority 
was  to  be  abolished,  and  every  civil  magistrate  displaced. 
Suffrage  was  to  be  made  universal,  except  that  every  citizen 
was  to  be  excluded  from  all  participation  in  the  primary  pro- 
ceedings who  was  proscribed  by  the  proposed  Fourteenth 
Amendment.  All  this  was  done  and  more,  several  years 
after  the  war  had  ended,  without  the  slightest  provocation  on 
the  part  of  the  Southern  states,  save  only  that  they  would 
vote  the  Democratic  ticket. 

North  Carolina,  who  had  already,  in  obedience  to  the 
President's  invitation,  held  a  convention  and  remodeled  her 
government  in  conformity  with  the  changed  condition  of 
affiiirs,  and  who  had  elected  a  full  corps  of  Federal  and  State 
officials,  became  a  part  of  "  Military  District  No.  2.'^  Orders 
from  "  Headquarters''  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  dissolved 
her  state  government,  framed  after  her  ancient  custom  and 
traditions,  overturned  her  laws  and  displaced  her  officials. 
Anarchy  reigned,  tempered  only  by  the  will  of  a  military 
satrap.     A  new  convention  was  called  by  his  authority. 

The  negroes  were  invited  to  vote,  though  their  suffrage 
was  not  known  to  either  State  or  Federal  law ;  whilst  many 
thousands,  embracing  nearly  all  of  her  leading  citizens,  were 
disfranchised.  As  the  Sepoy  troops  were  commanded  by 
British  officers,  so  these  ignorant  negroes  were  officered  by  a 
trained  corps  of  expert  thieves  and  scoundrels  who  showed 
them  how  to  plunder  the  helpless  whites. 

The  excuse  given  for  this  legislation  was  that  the  states 
lately  in  insurrection  were  in  a  state  of  complete  anarchy, 
entirely  without  civil  law  and  a  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment. Each  assertion  was  a  lie  so  palpable  and  monstrous, 
that  the  historian  will  wonder  at  the  hardihood  which  in- 
duced men  to  base  momentous'  actions  upon  it 

North  Carolina    had  a    republican    form  of  government,  ^ 


76  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

framed  by  a  convention  of  qualified  members,  who  had  been 
chosen  by  her  legal  electors  ;  and  under  tiic  Constitution  thus 
formed,  civil  officers  of  every  grade  had  been  elected  and 
installed;  courts  had  been  opened;  justice  was  everywhere 
administered,  and  order  secured  in  the  usual  way. 

In  addition  to  this,  her  duly  chosen  Senators  and  Represen- 
tatives stood  waiting  for  admission  at  the  doors  of  Congress. 
To  deny  all  this  would  justify  the  denial  of  any  event  of  the 
past.  No  fact  of  history  is  more  notorious.  Naturally  there 
could  be  no  other  than  the  worst  of  consequences  attending  a 
procedure  thus  begun  in  fraud  and  false  pretence,  and  sup- 
ported by  force.  A  saturnalia  began.  Our  English-speaking 
race  has  not  known  its  like  since  the  plunder  of  Ireland  in 
the  sixteenth  century.  Detachments  of  the  army  were  sta- 
tioned at  various  points  to  overawe  the  people.  Almost 
everv  citizen  of  experience  of  affairs  in  the  state  was  dis- 
franchised, and  over  the  others  hung  the  threat  of  confisca- 
tion. Under  such  circumstances  the  new  convention  was 
called  by  military  orders  :  the  qualification  of  its  members, 
its  electors,  and  the  persons  to  hold  the  elections,  the  time  and 
place,  were  all  prescribed  by  the  same  authority.  Many  of 
the  poll-holders  were  candidates,  whilst  their  associates  wero 
negroes  who  could  neither  read  nor  write. 

The  returns,  instead  of  being  compared  in  public,  as  was 
customary,  were  sealed  up  and  sent  to  ^Mieadquarters "  in 
Charleston,  South  Carolina.  There  they  were  examined  in 
secret  and  the  result  announced. 

That  result  was  110  Republicans  and  10  Democrats! 

The  voting  population  of  the  state,  as  ascertained  by  the 
census  two  years  afterwards,  was  214,222  ;  the  registration  for 
that  election  in  1868  was  103,060  whites  and  71,657  negroes — 
total  174,717.  The  result  shows  that  about  40,000  were 
either  disfranchised  or  in  some  other  way  were  deterred  from 
voting. 

Of  the  110  Republicans  who  were  announced  by  General 
Canby  to  be  elected  and  pronounced  by  the  sergeant  who  kept 
the  door  to  be  "  duly  qualified,"  were  thirteen  (13)  negroes, 
and  eight  (8)  strangers,  who  came  to  be  wittily  called  '^carpet- 
baggers."    They  were  not  citizens  of  the  state  and  were  in 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.  77 

no  way  entitled  to  the  privilege  of  making  laws  for  North 
Carolina ;  but  they  came  to  officer  the  negroes  and  to  teach 
loyalty  to  the  whites.  The  rest  were  disaffected  white  natives, 
mostly  without  property  to  be  taxed  or  sympathy  with  their 
race,  or  regard  for  the  misfortunes  of  their  country. 

The  language  of  the  registration  oath  is  a  sufficient  indica- 
tion of  their  character.  They  met  in  January,  1868,  and 
framed  a  Constitution  after  those  of  Ohio,  Illinois  and  other 
Northern  states,  ignoring  much  of  that  of  our  fathers. 

But  little  more  than  thirty  days'  notice  of  the  election  for 
ratification  was  given.  But  now  comes  the  most  iniquitous  part 
of  this  entire,  shameful  proceeding.  They  had  succeeded  in 
stifling  the  voice  of  the  people,  by  enforcing  the  disfranchising 
clauses  of  the  reconstruction  acts. 

Congress  went  no  further,  and  plainly  meant  to  go  no 
further,  than  to  provide  the  machinery  for  a  primary  conven- 
tion as  the  initial  point  of  the  new  government.  It  assumed 
the  right  to  prescribe  the  qualifi(!ations  of  the  voters  that  far 
only.  To  have  done  so  one  moment  after  that  conveution 
met  would  have  justified  Federal  control  of  the  suffrage  in 
every  state  and  for  all  time.  Accordingly,  the  new  Constitu- 
tion provided  that  all  males  of  legal  age  should  both  vote 
and  be  eligible  to  office,  except  when  convicted  of  felony. 
But  to  make  sure  of  their  hold  on  the  state  and  the  plunder 
which  they  meditated,  by  collusion  with  the  military  despot, 
they  held  the  election  for  state  officers  at  the  same  time  with 
that  for  ratification,  and  applied  the  same  disfranchisement  to 
both  !  In  this  way  at  least  40,000  citizens,  by  a  pure  fraud, 
were  deprived  of  the  right  to  vote  for  the  Constitution  of  their 
country  and  the  officers  elected  under  it,  although  it  expressly 
provided  in  terms  that  they  should  vote  !  It  is  difficult  to 
imagine  a  more  despotic  proceeding,  or  a  precedent  more  dan- 
gerous to  constitutional  liberty.  Here  the  foundation  was 
laid  for  all  the  corruption  and  misrule  which  followed.  Had 
the  suffrage  been  free  and  honest,  as  the  organic  law  required, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  Legislature  at  least  would 
have  represented  the  property  and  character  of  the  state  and 
both  been  safe.  By  this  procedure  the  logical  absurdity  was 
presented  of  submitting  to  the  negro  the  question  of  his  own 


78  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

rio-bt  of  suffrage.  Primarily  he  was  allowed  to  vote  on  the 
question.  The  Constitution  permitted  the  white  man  to  vote, 
but  the  military  orders  would  not  admit  him  to  the  polls  ; 
whereas  the  negro's  only  right  to  vote  was  under  the  Constitu- 
tion which  was  not  yet  adopted. 

The  white  man's  right  was  co-existent  with  the  government. 

The  question  may  be  stated,  for  clearness,  thus:  The 
white  men  had  the  exclusive  control  of  the  body  politic  and 
the  right  of  the  suffrage  from  the  foundation  of  the  govern- 
ment— it  was  his  government,  for  he  made  it ;  the  negroes, 
who  had  no  such  rigbts,  came  forward  and  asked  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  equal  privileges  with  the  white  men.  The  question 
was  decided  by  the  applicants  and  not  by  those  in  whom  the 
power  to  grant  the  application  rested. 

A  man  desires  to  become  a  member  of  the  church  ;  his 
application  is  referred  not  to  the  authorities  of  the  church, 
but  to  the  candidate  himself.  By  such  shameless  devices  was 
North  Carolina  reconstructed,  and  all  the  base  and  disrepu- 
table elements  of  society  fastened  upon  the  virtue  and  intelli- 
gence of  the  state.  What  little  of  wealth  the  war  had  spared 
was  at  the  mercy  of  those  whose  greed  was  only  equaled  by 
the  unscrupulous  villany  which  fed  it. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1868,  the  new  government  was  inaugu- 
rated. With  a  clean  sweep  of  all  the  state  officials  and  nearly 
all  the  counties,  and  a  large  majority  of  the  Legislature,  and 
backed  by  the  army  of  the  United  States,  they  had  it  all 
their  own  way. 

The  Senate  stood  thirty-eight  Republicans  and  twelve 
Democrats.  The  House  stood  eighty  Republicans  to  forty 
Democrats.  Of  the  Republicans  there  were  twelve  carpet- 
baggers and  nineteen  negroes — several  of  whom  could  not 
read  or  write.  They  made  loud  promises  of  a  new  genera- 
tion of  progress;  and  they  were  soon  to  bring  about  "a  new 
heavens  and  a  new  earth.^'  They  told  how  the  old  order  of 
things  had  been  weighted  down  by  slavery,  and  the  poor  had 
been  oppressed  by  an  aristocracy  based  upon  it ;  and  they 
declared  that  their  divine  mission  was  to  regenerate  a  vast 
state  and  awaken  the  latent  energies  of  a  sleeping  people  and 
develop  the  hidden  resources  of  buried  wealth  ! 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.  79 

The  better  to  do  this,  a  number  of  outside  carpet-baggers 
were  called  in  to  assist  in  the  great  work  of  progress  by 
manipulating  the  negroes  and  the  purchasable  whites.  Prom- 
inent among  these  strangers  were  one  Milton  S.  Littlefield, 
Dewees  and  others — men  whose  reputations  at  home,  if  they 
ever  had  a  home,  entitled  them  to  the  contempt  of  their 
neighbors,  and  who,  in  their  wanderings  in  search  of  plunder 
in  the  wake  of  devastating  armies,  left  everywhere  behind 
them  a  stench  of  foulness  and  corruption. 

They  immediately  organized  for  a  raid  upon  the  depleted 
treasury  of  an  impoverished  people.  It  was  soon  stripped 
of  every  available  dollar ;  then  the  school  fund  was  robbed, 
its  investments  were  sold  to  pay  their  per  diem^  which  was 
spread  out  indefinitely  by  their  protracted  and  unusual  sit- 
tings. Four  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  (S420,000)  dollars 
of  stock  in  the  Wilmington  &  Weldon  and  the  Wilmington 
&  Manchester  Railroads,  which  belonged  to  the  educational 
fund,  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  children  of  the  state,  were 
sold  by  the  Republican  Treasurer  for  §158,000;  which,  with 
§100,000  more,  borrowed  from  the  Bank  of  George  W. 
Swepson,  was  paid  for  their  services,  at  the  rate  of  eight 
dollars  a  day,  to  these  negroes  and  carpet-baggers,  who  were 
professing  to  be  the  especial  friends  of  education. 

But  having  speedily  swept  away  all  that  was  visible  and 
capable  of  asportation,  there  remained,  unhappily,  a  still 
greater  intangible  mine  of  rich  material  for  plunder  in  the 
credit  of  the  state.  Viewed  as  a  corporation,  though  her 
fields  had  been  devastated  by  war  and  her  substance  wasted 
by  fire,  yet  that  which  was  left  constituted  assets  of  consider- 
able value  and  gave  her  obligations  a  standing  in  the  market. 
Having  obtained  the  power  to  control  these  assets  and  pro- 
vided a  rigid  guarantee  to  this  end  in  the  Constitution  itself, 
they  resolved  to  rob  the  living  and  the  yet  unborn  by  the 
issue  to  themseh^es  of  her  promises  to  pay. 

A  ring  was  formed,  the  chief  of  which  were  the  said 
Littlefield  and  one  George  W.  Swepson,  a  native,  whose 
reputation  for  integrity  was  so  bad  as  to  make  that  of  Little- 
field  tolerable.  He  was,  perhaps,  the  most  adroit  agent  of 
corruption  who  was  ever  known  in  North  Carolina,  as  was 


80  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

evidenced  by  the  way  in  which  he  manipidated  lawyers, 
legislators  and  juda^es.  This  ring  demanded,  and  in  most 
cases  received,  ten  (10)  per  cent,  on  all  ai)propriatious  passed 
by  that  Legislature,  and  it  was  notoriously  nnderstood  that 
none,  however  meritorious,  could  pass  Avithout  the  payment 
of  this  tithe,  and  that  any,  however  outrageous,  could  pass 
upon  its  payment.  With  this  arrangement,  Littlefield,  De- 
wees,  Laflin  and  others  bought  the  Legislature,  giving  orders 
upon  Swepson,  who  acted  as  treasurer  of  the  corruption  fund. 
Lavish  entertainments  were  given  and  paid  for  in  the  same 
way ;  a  regular  bar  was  established  in  the  Capitol,  and  it  was 
said  that,  with  somewhat  less  publicity,  some  of  its  rooms 
were  devoted  to  the  purposes  of  prostitution.  Decency  fled 
abashed  ;  the  spectacle  of  coarse,  ignorant  negroes  sitting  at 
table,  drinking  champagne  and  smoking  Havana  cigars,  was 
not  uncommon.  I  cannot  refrain,  in  this  connection,  from 
telling  a  story  which  I  have  heard  of  one  old  *' Cuffy,'^  who 
was  a  member  of  that  body,  and  a  shining  light  in  the  move- 
ment of  progress — one  who,  in  the  language  of  Mr.  Hoar, 
had  his  ''face  turned  toward  the  morning  light.''  A  friend, 
going  to  see  him  one  night  at  his  rooms,  found  him  sitting  at 
a  table,  by  the  dim  light  of  a  tallow  dip,  laboriously  counting 
a  pile  of  money,  and  chuckling  to  himself  "Why,"  said  his 
visitor,  "what  amuses  you  so,  Uncle  CufTy  ?"  "Well,  boss," 
he  replied,  grinning  from  ear  to  ear,  "I 's  been  sold  in  my 
life  'leven  times,  an',  fo'  de  Lord,  dis  is  de  fust  time  I  eber 
got  de  money  ! " 

Railroad  companies  were  chartered  right  and  left,  and  the 
friends  and  members  of  the  thieving-guild  were  made  presi- 
dents, directors  and  treasurers.  When  the  booty  was  not 
likely  to  go  round  and  give  each  one  a  fair  divide,  existing 
railroads  were  cut  in  two  and  old  ones  revived  on  paper. 

Bonds  were  issued  for  the  stock  of  the  state  in  all  these 
projects,  and  they  were  issued  at  once  and  in  full,  without 
limitations  or  conditions,  and  without  any  proper  requirement 
that  the  private  stock  should  be  bona  fide. 

In  this  way,  in  less  than  four  months  the  Legislature 
authorized  the  issuing  of  bonds  of  the  state  to  the  extent  of 
$2 e5,3 50,000.     In  addition  to  this,  bonds  had  been  issued  for 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.  gl 

various  other  schemes  of  minor  importance,  whilst  the  old 
debt  of  the  state,  including  accumulated  interest,  was  at  least 
$16,000,000.  The  whole  debt  thus  imposed  upon  our  people 
exceeded  §42,000,000;  whilst  the  whole  property  of  the 
state  assessed  for  taxation  in  our  then  impoverished  condition 
barely  reached  $120,000,000.  In  1860,  when  the  taxables  of 
the  state  were  assessed  at  $292,000,000,  the  total  amount  of 
taxes  collected  for  state  purposes  was  $543,000.  In  1870  the 
taxables  were  assessed  at  $130,000,000,  and  the  amount  of 
taxes  collected  was  $1,160,000 — more  than  double  the  amount 
upon  less  than  half  the  property ;  and  this,  too,  without  the 
payment  of  interest  upon  the  state  debt.  They  had  provided 
carefully  for  obtaining  as  high  a  price  as  possible  for  these 
bonds,  by  bulling  them  in  the  Constitution  itself. 

They  knew  that  the  crash  would  inevitably  come,  and  took 
all  possible  means  of  filling  their  pockets  before  it  arrived. 
That  inevitable  end  came  sooner  than  they  thought. 

The  old  saying,  that  ^i  Whom  the  gods  wished  to  destroy 
they  first  made  mad/^  was  literally  fulfilled.  Rashly  confi- 
dent of  their  security  for  a  number  of  years,  there  was  no 
extremity  of  excess  to  which  they  did  not  go.  It  is  safe  to 
say  that  there  was  not  a  transaction,  routine  or  otherwise,  con- 
nected with  the  administration  of  the  government  in  which 
there  was  not  more  or  less  of  corruption. 

The  county  authorities,  emulating  the  example  of  the  state, 
began  a  system  of  plunder  in  their  municipal  credit  and 
plunged  many  of  them  so  deeply  in  debt,  that  some  of  the 
wealthiest  in  the  state  had  their  script  hawked  on  the  streets 
at  ten  (10)  cents  on  the  dollar.  Many  of  the  bonds  of  the 
state  were  paid  out  in  fabulous  sums  to  lawyers  and  in  some 
cases  even  to  judges.  Hundreds  of  thousands  were  gambled 
away  in  New  York,  and  a  noted  courtesan  of  that  city  ex- 
hibited $100,000  of  these  bonds  which  she  said  she  received 
from  a  railroad  president. 

The  administration  of  justice  was  conducted  but  little  bet- 
ter than  the  legislation  of  the  state.  It  may  without  exag- 
geration be  termed  scandalous.  A  majority  of  the  judges 
were  either  ignorant  or  corrupt.  In  fact,  reconstruction  pro- 
cesses had  so  winnowed  the  people,  as  to  leave  but  very  few 

6 


g2  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

lawyers  of  learning  and  integrity  in  the  ranks  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  from  which  to  choose  judges. 

Several  of  them  were  known  as  $20  lawyers — that  is, 
men  who  had  never  studied  law,  but  had  obtained  a 
license  to  practice  upon  proof  of  good  character  and  the 
payment  of  §20.  Several  of  them  were  notoriously  cor- 
rupt. In  a  short  time  a  large  petition,  signed  by  both  Dem- 
ocratic and  Republican  lawyers,  was  presented  to  the  Legis- 
ture  asking  for  the  removal  of  one  for  incompetency ;  whilst 
another  resigned  to  escape  impeachment. 

It  scarcely  seems  credible,  and  yet  it  is  true,  that  with  this 
$25,000,000  of  bonds  authorized  to  be  issued,  $14,000,000 
of  which  were  actually  issued,  not  one  mile  of  railroad  was 
built  in  the  state.  That,  with  all  the  school  fund  which  the 
state  had  left  from  the  war,  supplemented  as  it  was  by  a  con- 
siderable taxation  for  school  purposes,  not  one  child  in  the 
state,  white  or  black,  was  educated  in  any  public  school  for 
two  years.  Not  one  public  building  or  charitable  institution 
of  any  kind  was  built.  No  single  thing  was  done  to  sustain 
the  credit  of  the  state  or  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  peo- 
ple. They  simply  sank  the  state  as  low  in  the  scale  of  pro- 
gress as  could  possibly  be  done  short  of  universal  ruin. 

To  all  of  this,  and  more  than  my  pen  can  possibly  describe, 
the  people  of  North  Carolina  submitted  with  long-suffering 
patience.  They  were  spirit-broken  by  the  results  of  the  war — 
the  desolation  of  their  homes  and  the  slaughter  of  their  sons. 
They  were  worn  down  to  the  earth  by  the  degradation  im- 
posed upon  them  by  the  negro-equality  of  the  Civil  Rights 
Bill  and  all  the  racking  evils  of  the  times.  But  a  day  was 
coming  when  their  ancient  Spirit  was  once  more  to  re-assert 
itself.  That  Legislature  which  had  robbed  them  of  their  sub- 
stance, finally  attempted  to  rob   them  of  their  vital  liberties. 

Under  the  pretence  of  suppressing  internal  disorders,  it 
passed  a  bill  known  as  the  Sohoffaer  Act,  by  which  the  Gov- 
ernor of  the  state  was  authorized  to  declare  any  county  in  his 
discretion  to  be  in  a  state  of  insurrection  ;  to  proclaim  martial 
law  over  it,  and  to  arrest  summarily  and  try  by  a  drum-head 
court  all  accused  persons.  To  enable  him  to  execute  this  law, 
he  was  authorized  to  raise  two  regiments  of  soldiers,  to   be 


KECONSTEUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAEOLINA.  83 

used  at  his  discretion.  This  he  pro(;eeded  to  do.  One  regi- 
ment was  composed  of  negroes  enlisted  in  the  eastern  conn- 
ties;  the  other  was  composed  of  supposed  white  men  from  the 
mountains  of  East  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina, — deserters, 
renegades  and  cut-throats,  for  the  most  part, — under  the  com- 
mand of  one  Kirk,  of  infamous  memory.  This  vile  and  ill- 
assorted  crew  descended  from  the  mountains  and  repaired  to 
Raleigh  to  be  armed  and  equipped,  spreading  terror  as  they 
went.  They  were  dispatched  to  the  counties  of  Orange,  Ala- 
mance and  Caswell,  where  they  immediately  proceeded  to 
make  quite  a  number  of  arrests.  A  court-ma'-tial  was  con- 
vened for  the  trial  of  the  prisoners.  All  this  in  a  time  of 
profound  peace.  The  whole  country  took  alarm  and  began 
to  blaze.  The  quiet  pride  of  old  North  Carolina  could  stand 
the  plunder  of  her  substance,  but  would  not  endure  the  de- 
privation of  trial  by  jury.  The  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was 
instantly  applied  for,  to  Chief  Justice  Pearson,  who  granted 
it  readily,  but  with  instructions  to  the  marshal  endorsed  upon 
it,  that  if  the  Governor,  upon  whom  it  was  to  be  served,  should 
refuse  to  obey,  he  was  to  make  return  of  that  fact  to  him. 
Upon  his  intimation,  Governor  Holden  of  course  declined  to 
obey,  whereupon  the  chief  justice  quietly  declared  that  the 
power  of  the  judiciary  was  exhausted,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  there  was  a  statute  authorizing  him  to  summon  the 
posse  Gomitafus  in  aid  of  the  execution  of  his  own  writs.  A 
sad  commentary  on  our  condition  indeed,  when  a  great  and 
learned  judge  should  so  far  yield  to  the  disorders  of  the  times 
as  to  shrink  from  the  performance  of  a  solemn  duty  in  this 
way. 

It  was  w^ith  the  greatest  difficulty  that  the  cooler- headed 
men  of  the  state  restrained  the  impetuous  youth  ;  but  they 
did.  Happily  an  election  for  attorney-general  and  members 
of  the  Legislature  was  approaching,  and  would  be  held  in  the 
ensuino*  Auo-ust  of  1870.  All  violence  was  averted  in  the 
hope  that  the  offending  Governor  and  exhausted  judiciary 
would  hear  the  voice  of  the  people,  if  they  would  not  hear 
the  voice  of  conscience.     And  it  was  so. 

Although  troops  were  stationed  in  various  points  of  the 
state  to  intimidate  the  voters,  and  though  Governor  Holden 


84  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

was  assured  by  public  dispatches  of  the  support  of  President 
Grant,  and  though  leading  editors  and  public  men  were  ar- 
rested or  threatened  with  arrest,  yet  the  peo})le  went  to  the 
polls  with  a  calmness  and  a  determination  never  equaled  in 
our  state.  The  disfranchised  white  citizens  had  then  their 
first  chance  at  the  ballot-box,  whilst  hundreds  and  thousands 
of  the  better  sort  of  Republicans  voted  with  them. 

The  state  was  redeemed  amidst  the  thankful  prayers  of  all 
honest  men.  The  Legislature  was  largely  Democratic,  and  it 
proceeded  promptly  to  repeal  all  obnoxious  legislation — that 
including  the  issue  of  bonds,  and  the  Schoffner  Act  in  par- 
ticular— and  to  the  impeachment  of  the  Governor. 

Reconstruction  and  its  outrages  were  at  an  end  in  North 
Carolina.  Its  consequences,  alas  !  were  not  so  easily  effaced. 
That  great  debt  still  hangs  as  a  cloud  over  our  people,  threat- 
ening their  credit  and  retarding  their  prosperity.  The  com- 
pensation for  all  these  ills  which  we  suffered  we  hope  to  reap 
from  the  lessons  which  suffering  ever  teaches.  I  am  also  in 
the  hope  that  this  recital  of  these  unhappy  events  may  tend 
in  some  degree  to  soften  the  opinion  and  mitigate  the  judg- 
ment of  many  of  my  impartial  countrymen  in  the  Northern 
portion  of  our  Union  towards  the  people  of  North  Carolina 
and  their  conduct  in  the  ordeal  through  which  they  they  have 
passed  ;  as  well  as  upon  that  unfinished  journey  which  is 
before  them,  so  thickly  beset  with  the  disturbing  results  of 
civil  war. 

Zebulon  B.  Yance. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

RECONSTRUCTION   IN  SOUTH   CAROLINA. 

WHEN"  the  acts  of  March  2d  and  March  23(1,  for  the  recon. 
struction  of  the  late  Confederate  States  were   passed, 
the  Governor  of  South  Carolina  was  the  Hon.  James 
L.  Orr,  a   man  of  great  ability  and  sagacity,  and  of  well- 
known  conservative  views,  who  afterwards  held  high  position 
in  the  Republican  party. 

The  first  step  by  the  new  citizens  in  the  process  of  recon- 
struction was  the  election  of  delegates  to  a  convention  called 
to  meet  in  January,  1868,  in  Charleston,  for  the  purpose  of 
framing  a  state  Constitution.  It  was  composed  of  thirty-four 
whites  and  sixty-three  blacks.  At  the  time,  the  body  was 
said  to  be  made  up  of  Northern  adventurers.  Southern  rene- 
gades, and  ignorant  negroes.  Many  of  the  members  of  the 
convention  afterwards  became  prominent  in  the  Legislature, 
in  state  offices,  and  in  Congress,  and  the  reader,  as  he  follows 
these  pages,  which  give  some  account  of  their  actings  and 
doings,  can  form  his  own  opinion  as  to  whether  the  above 
description  is  true  of  those  of  whom  it  was  spoken. 

The  constitution  was  adopted  in  April,  1868,  by  the  votes 
of  the  negroes  upon  whom  the  right  to  vote  had  not  then 
been  conferred,  either  by  the  Constitution  of  the  state  or 
United  States;  and  whose  right  to  vote  at  all,  upon  anything, 
so  far  as  state  authority  was  concerned,  was  the  very  question 
to  be  settled  by  the  Constitution  which  they  themselves  voted 
to  adopt.  For  while  the  reconstruction  acts  of  Congress 
assumed  to  confer  the  elective  franchise  upon  the  negro,  the 
Fifteeuth  Amendment-. to  the  Constitution,  which,  in  the 
words  of  the  proclamation  of  President  Grant,  "makes  at 
once  four  millions  of  people  voters,''  was  ratified  on  March 
30th,  1870. 

85 


86  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

The  Republicans  named  as  their  candidate  for  Governor, 
General  R.  K.  Scott,  of  Ohio,  who  was  one  of  the  officers  of 
the  Freedraen's  Bureau  in  the  state,  and  the  Conservatives, 
as  then  called,  embracing  tiie  reputable  tax-payers  of  the  state, 
nominated  the  Hon.  W.  D.  Porter,  of  (■harleston.  Mr. 
Porter  was  a  gentleman  of  liberal  views,  of  the  highest  in- 
tegrity and  ability,  and  had  long  been  recognized  as  one  of 
the  foremost  citizens  of  the  state.  If  the  newly-fledged  citi- 
zens had  desired  that  public  affairs  should  be  honestly  and 
wisely  administered,  they  could  have  chosen  no  better  man. 
Instead  of  that,  General  Scott  was  elected  by  a  majority  of 
two  to  one,  and  he  and  his  associates  ,took  office  under  the 
new  Constitution  on  July  9th,  1868. 

The  General  Assembly,  then  elected,  consisted  of  seventy- 
two  whites  and  eighty-five  colored  members.  In  the  Senate 
were  seven  Democrats,  in  the  House  fourteen  ;  the  remaining 
one  hundred  and  thirty-six  were  Republican  F.  J.  Moses, 
Jr.,  a  white  man,  a  nativ^e  of  the  state,  whose  character  is 
properly  delineated  in  the  words  of  Governor  Ciiamberlain, 
quoted  hereafter,  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. 

With  the  inauguration  of  Governor  Scott  and  the  meeting 
of  the  General  Assembly  elected  with  him  began  the  recon- 
struction legislation  of  South  Carolina. 

Mr.  James  S,  Pike,  late  Minister  of  the  United  States  at 
the  Hague,  a  Republican  and  an  original  abolitionist,  Avho 
visited  the  state  in  1873,  after  five  years'  supremacy  by  Scott 
and  his  successor,  Moses,  and  their  allies,  has  published  a 
pungent  and  instructive  account  of  public  affairs  during  that 
trying  time,  under  the  title  of  "The  Prostrate  State.''  The 
most  significant  of  the  striking  features  of  this  book  is  that 
he  undertakes  to  write  a  correct  history  of  the  state  by  di- 
viding the  principal  frauds,  already  committed  or  then  in 
process  of  completion,  into  eight  distinct  classes,  which  he 
enumerates  as  follows  :  — 

1.  Those  wdiich  relate  to  the  increase  of  the  state  debt. 

2.  The  frauds  practiced  in  the  purchase  of  lauds  for  the 

freed  men. 

3.  The  railroad  frauds. 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  87 

4.  The  election  frauds. 

5.  The  frauds  practiced  in  the  redemption  of  the  notes  of 

the  Bank  of  South  Carolina. 

6.  The  census  fraud. 

7.  The  fraud  in  furnishing  the  legislative  chamber. 

8.  General  and  legislative  corruption. 

That  is  one  way,  and  a  very  good  one,  to  treat  the  subject 
to  be  discussed.  I  will  not  do  this,  however,  but  will  en- 
deavor to  give  a  brief  account  of  some  of  the  more  important 
events  as  they  occurred  under  each  administration,  in  a  some- 
what chronological  order. 

A  law  providing  for  the  holding  of  the  next  general  elec- 
tion was  naturally  among  the  first  things  that  received  legis- 
lative attention. 

The  act  passed  contained  fifty-seven  sections  and  was  well 
devised  for  its  purpose.     Its  four  chief  features  were  : 

1.  Providing  for  the  appointment  by  the  Governor  of  the 
three  Commissioners  of  Election  for  each  county,  who  were 
authorized  to  appoint  all  the  managers  at  the  various  polling 
precincts. 

2.  Failure  to  provide  by  law  either  for  the  number  or 
location  of  the  voting  precincts  in  the  state,  and  leaving  with 
the  Commissioners  of  each  county  the  absolute  power  to 
designate  the  number  of  precincts  in  their  respective  counties, 
at  any  place  and  at  any  time,  even  on  the  day  of  election,  and 
that  without  any  notice  to  the  voters. 

3.  Failure  to  provide  that  the  voters  should  be  sworn  by 
the  managers  when  they  presented  themselves  to  vote. 

4.  The  omission  of  any  penalty  whatever  for  the  violation 
of  the  election  law  by  illegal  voting  or  repeating. 

As  the  Commissioners  were  usually  candidates  themselves  ; 
as  they  fixed  the  polling  precincts  most  convenient  for  their 
own  party  and  most  inconvenient  for  their  opponents ;  as 
Governor  Scott  refused  upon  application  to  appoint  one  Com- 
missioner from  the  opposition,  and  as  the  Republican  General 
Committee  refused  to  permit  a  committee  composed  of  mem- 
bers of  both  political  parties  to  watch  the  ballot  boxes  until 
the  vote  was  counted ;  the  prospects  of  a  fair  and  honest  elec- 
tion were  necessarily  dim  and  discouraging. 


gg  WHY  TflE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

An  act  was  passed  in  1869,  defining  the  civil  rights  of  the 
new  citizens,  which  contained  one  or  more  very  noticeable 
features.  After  defining  what  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
the  colored  man  should  be  on  railroads,  in  theatres  and  other 
public  places,  it  changed  the  long  established  rule  of  evidence 
that  all  men  shall  be  considered  innocent  until  proved  guilty, 
and  expressly  enacted,  that  if  the  person  whose  rights  under 
the  act  were  alleged  to  have  been  denied,  happened  to  be 
colored,  then  the  burden  of  proof  should  be  on  the  defendant ; 
so  that  any  person  or  corporation  named  in  the  act,  if  simply 
accused  by  a  person  of  color,  was  thereby  to  be  presumed  to 
be  guilty  and  was  liable  to  be  subjected  to  heavy  penalties, 
upon  this  mere  accusation,  without  a  particle  of  proof  from 
the  plaintiff  or  any  other  witness. 

The  prosecuting  officers  of  the  state  were  specially  directed 
by  the  statute  to  ''rigorously''  enforce  the  provisions  of  this 
law,  under  pain  of  heavy  fines  and  forfeitures. 

Immediately  upon  the  inauguration  of  the' new  officials  and 
the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  was  begun  that  system 
of  extravagance,  profligacy  and  corruption  which  ruled  almost 
unhindered  through  the  entire  eight  years  of  Republican 
domination  in  the  state,  which  made  South  Carolina  notorious 
throughout  this  whole  country  and  drove  the  res})ectable  peo- 
ple of  the  state  almost  to  despair. 

There  is  great  difficulty  in  portraying  in  an  interesting  way 
the  true  condition  of  public  affairs  at  this  period  of  the  state's 
history.  The  whole  Government  and  every  part  of  it  was  so 
rotten  and  the  corruption  so  great  and  all-pervading  that  the 
simple  recital  of  the  facts  soon  dulls  the  sensibilities  and 
wearies  the  indignation  of  the  reader  and  he  is  tempted  to 
turn  away  in  disgust. 

Without  attempting  to  give  in  detail  the  many  acts  of  cor- 
ruption that  marked  the  career  of  the  Republican  adminis- 
tration, let  me  mention  some  of  the  more  prominent  by  way 
of  examples  of  the  whole. 

When  the  Republicans  first  met  in  Legislative  Assembly  in 
1868  thev  used  the  same  buildiup;  which  the  whites  had  occu- 
pied  before  them  and  furnished  the  halls  in  an  inexpensive 
manner  and  one  best  suited  to  the  impoverished  condition  of 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA,  89 

the  state.  As  soon,  however,  as  they  were  more  firmly  fixed 
in  ]30wer  and  became  more  accustomed  to  making  appro- 
priations from  public  funds  they  exhibited  most  luxurious 
taste.  They  undertook  to  furnish  anew  the  halls  of  legisla- 
tion in  the  State  House.  For  clocks  that  cost  five  dollars 
two  years  previous  they  substituted  in  1871  and  '72  clocks  at 
six  hundred  dollars  :  for  forty  cent  spittoons,  eight  dollar  cus- 
pidors :  for  four  dollar  l)enches,  two  hundred  dollar  crimson 
sofas  :  for  one  dollar  chairs,  sixty  dollar  crimson  plush  gothic 
chairs :  for  ten  dollar  desks,  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
dollar  desks :  for  four  dollar  looking-glasses,  six  hundred 
dollar  mirrors,  etc.,  etc. 

The  entire  bill  for  furnishing  the  Hall  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  was  over  $50,000,  and  the  Legislature  think- 
ing that  entirely  too  small  appropriated  $95,000,  to  pay  for  it. 
Within  the  past  year  this  hall  has  been  nicely  furnished 
anew  at  an  expense  of  $3,061. 

The  total  amount  paid  out  for  furniture  alone  in  four  years 
was  over  $200,000,  and  in  1877  when  this  question  was  in- 
vestigated there  remained  in  the  State  House  only  $17,715, 
worth  as  appraised  at  the  prices  originally  charged  for  it.  At 
least  forty  bed-rooms  were  furnished  at  the  expense  of  the 
state,  and  some  of  these  as  often  as  three  times. 

Another  item  of  expense  was  designated  "supplies,  sundries 
and  incidentals''  and  this  amounted  in  one  session  of  the 
Legislature  to  $350,000.  Of  this  sum  $125,000  was  spent 
in  maintaining  a  restaurant  in  one  of  the  committee  rooms  of 
the  Capitol,  including  liquors  and  cigars  to  which  all  officials 
and  their  friends  helped  themselves  without  cost  except  to  the 
tax-payers.  This  restaurant  or  bar-room  was  kept  open  every 
day  for  six  years,  from  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  three 
o'clock  the  following  morning. 

While  legislation  was  pending  in  the  United  States  Congress 
to  take  the  census  of  1870  the  General  Assembly  of  South 
Carolina,  by  way  of  showing  a  want  of  confidence  in  the 
ability  or  fairness  of  the  same  party  in  Washington,  provided 
for  a  census  of  the  state  under  state  authority.  Of  course 
it  was  not  so  elaborate  as  the  United  States  census  but  while 
the  total  cost  of  the  extensive  work  done  by  the  latter,  except 


90  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

the  mere  compilation  in  the  census  office,  was  $43,203.13, 
the  tax  payers. of  South  Carolina,  for  a  perfectly  useless  enu- 
meration had  to  pay  $75,524  00. 

Many  years  prior  to  the  late  war  South  Carolina  established 
a  State  Bank  whose  bills  the  state  was  bound  to  redeem. 

In  proceedings  in  Court,  begun  in  Charleston,  against  the 
Bank  subsequent  to  the  late  war,  advertisement  was  made  ex- 
tensively over  the  country  for  about  eighteen  months  for  all 
holders  of  these  bills  to  present  them  to  the  Court,  and  less  than 
$500,000  were  presented  under  this  order  and  adv^ertisement. 

The  Legislature  then  came  forward  and  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  count  these  bills  with  a  view  of  having  them  funded 
in  state  bonds. 

To  the  absolute  astonishment  of  every  body,  Avhat  the  Court 
had  found  to  be  $500,000  of  Bank  bills,  this  committee  re- 
ported to  be  $1,258,550,  and  under  an  act  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  September  15,  1868,  bonds  of  the  state  were 
issued  to  the  amount  of  $1,590,000  to  redeem  these  bills.  In 
the  words  of  Mr.  Pike,  above  quoted  :  "By  this  one  simple 
operation  the  state  thus  ai)pears  to  have  been  defrauded  of  a 
round  million." 

It  was  generally  alleged  and  credited  that  most  of  the  state 
officials,  as  well  as  members  of  the  legislature  were  holders 
of  these  bills.  Governor  Scott  himself  being  interested  to 
the  extent  of  $50,000  or  $60,000.  Joseph  Crews,  one  mem- 
ber of  the  legislative  committee  appointed  to  count  the  bills, 
deposited  $30,000  of  them  in  a  bank  in  Columbia  soon  after 
the  bonds  were  issued,  and  when  the  bills  ought  to  have  been, 
and  the  public  supposed  they  had  been  destroyed. 

Among  other  measures  to  which  attention  was  given  by  the 
General  Assembly  during  Scott's  first  administration  was  one 
of  an  apparently  humane  purpose,  and  if  it  had  been  honestly 
and  prudently  carried  out  might  have  produced  some  benefi- 
cial results.  This  was  the  establishment  of  the  Land  Com- 
mission, the  alleged  object  of  which  was  to  buy  homes  for 
the  homeless,  and  for  this  purpose  the  Legislature  appropriated 
in  March  1869,  $200,000  and  in  March  1870,  $500,000. 

One  not  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  character  of  the 
public  officials  of  the  state  at  that  time  might  suppose  that 


KECONST  RUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAEOLINA.  91 

while  they  would  rob  the  state  and  fleece  the  tax-payers  they 
would  spare  the  poor  ignorant  and  homeless  negroes  for 
whose  benefit  this  money  was  appropriated  and  by  whose 
votes  these  officials  obtained  the  power  to  plunder  the  state 
and  insult  and  over-ride  her  decent  people. 

From  official  sources  it  appears  that  $802,137.44  was 
spent  by  the  land  commission,  and  that  with  this  sum  was 
purchased  112,404  acres  of  land.  There  were  a  few  cases  in 
which  the  land  was  good  and  the  prices  probably  fair,  but  the 
character  of  the  majority,  both  as  to  quality  and  price,  may  be 
gathered  from  the  report  of  an  investigation  made  by  a  com- 
mittee of  the  Republican  Legislature.  One  sand  bed  of  6,918 
acres  not  worth  $1  per  acre  was  bought  for  $44,418  :  one 
tract  of  3,200  acres  worth  about  §1,500  was  bought  for  §19,- 
5  )0  and  another  large  tract  known  as  Hell-hole  Swamp,  was 
bought  for  §26,100  and  charged  to  the  state  at  §120,000. 
These  lands  as  a  whole  were  so  utterly  worthless  that  to  have 
supported  one  able-bodied  freedman  upon  them  would  have 
bean  regarded  as  the  greatest  of  agricultural  achievements. 
JSTo  motive  except  that  of  public  plunder  can  be  assigned  for 
purchases  of  this  kind  unless  the  then  land  commissioner 
thought  to  settle  the  negro  question  in  South  Carolina  by 
starving  him  to  death. 

During  Governor  Scott's  first  term  he  did  not  omit  to  put  in 
operation  every  engine  which  ingenuity  could  suggest  to  secure 
his  renominatiou  and  re-election  as  his  own  immediate  successor. 

On  March  1st,  1870,  he  approved  an  act  of  the  General 
Assembly  for  the  government  of  general  elections.  Unlike 
the  act  of  1868,  it  required  that  the  voters  should  be  sworn 
before  voting  and  provided  a  penalty  for  illegal  voting.  It 
is  remarkable  however  for  three  things: 

1.  It  failed  to  make  provision  for  the  registration  of  v^oters 
as  expressly  required  by  the  Constitution,  and  as  had  been 
done  in  the  act  of  1868. 

2.  It  failed  as  in  the  previous  act  to  fix  either  the  number 
or  places  of  the  election  precincts  in  any  county,  and  left  it 
entirely  in  the  power  of  the  commissioners  of  election  of  each 
county  to  designate  any  number  and  any  places  as  precincts  for 
holding  the  election,  on  any  day  before  the  electioUj  or  even 


92  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

ou  the  very  day  Itself,  aud  without  any  uotlce  whatever  to 
the  voters. 

3.  It  failed  to  provide  for  the  public  counting  of  the  votes 
at  the  close  of  the  polls,  and  expressly  gave  the  managers  power 
to  take  the  boxes  and  votes  and  hold  them  for  three  days  before 
returning  them  to  the  commisioners  of  election  to  be  counted, 
and  to  these  commissioners  it  gave  the  power  to  hold  the 
boxes  and  ballots  for  ten  days  before  declaring  the  result. 

In  a  report  made  by  Judge  Poland,  a  prominent  and  able 
Kepublican  of  Vermont,  as  chairman  on  the  part  of  the 
House,  of  a  Congressional  committee  appointed  in  March 
1871,  to  investigate  the  condition  of  the  late  Confederate  states, 
is  found  this  comment  on  the  election  laws  of  South  Carolina. 

''  The  election  law  of  the  state  is  one  which  could  not  be 
better  calculated  to  produce  frauds  by  affording  the  facilities 
to  commit  and  conceal  them,  and  tempted  by  these  facilities  we 
cannot  doubt  that  in  many  instances  they  were  cuaimittcd." 

On  March  16th,  1869^  the  Governor  approved  "An  Act 
to  Organize  and  Govern  the  Militia  of  the  State  of  South 
Carolina,"  which  made  provision  for  the  organization  of  the 
militia  into  regiments,  battalions,  etc ,  as  the  Governor  might 
deem  expedient.  It  then  provided  that  there  should  be  no 
military  organizations  or  formations  for  the  purpose  of  arm- 
ing, drilling,  exercising  the  manual  of  arms,  or  military 
manoeuvres  not  authorized  by  the  act  and  by  the  Commander- 
in-Chief,  and  subjected  any  citizen  violating  this  act  to  pun- 
ishment in  the  penitentiary,  at  hard  labor,  for  not  less  than 
one  nor  more  than  three  years.  Under  this  act  the  Governor 
refused  to  receive  any  but  colored  companies.  The  penalties 
for  exercising  the  manual  of  arms  were  intended  to,  and  did, 
prohibit  any  but  those  whom  he  authorized  from  enjoying 
this  privilege. 

On  February  8th,  1869,  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the 
Governor  to  employ  an  armed  force,  who  were  to  be  mounted 
and  fully  equipped ;  and  on  the  16th  of  the  same  month  he 
was  empowered  "to  purchase  two  thousand  stand  of  arms." 

In  1870  Governor  Scott  was  renominated  by  the  regular 
Kepublicau  convention,  and  R.  B.  Carpenter,  himself  a  Re- 
publican, then  regarded  as  among  the  ablest  and  most  avail- 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  93 

able  of  the  new  statesmen,  was   nominated  by  the  ^^  Reform 
Party,"  composed  of  the  whites  and  dissatisfied  Repnblicans. 

Governor  Scott,  becoming  apprehensive  as  to  his  reelection, 
soon  made  apparent  the  motives  that  had  prompted  the  pass- 
age of  the  four  acts  of  the  General  Assembly  above  specified. 

Ninety-six  thousand  colored  men  were  enrolled  in  military 
companies  throughout  the  state,  the  simple  enrollment  costing 
the  state  over  $200,000 ;  the  Governor  in  this  way  furnishing 
employment  and  compensation  to  his  political  "strikers"  and 
''heelers"  at  public  expense.  The  Adjutant  General,  F.  J. 
Moses,  Jr.,  bought  one  thousand  Winchester  Rifles  for  about 
$38,000,  and  one  million  "central  fire  copper  cartridges"  at 
a  cost  of  $37,000.  On  the  order  of  the  Governor  the  Adju- 
tant General  went  to  Washington  and  procured  ten  thousand 
Springfield  muskets  from  the  general  government,  thus  an- 
ticipating for  years  in  advance  the  state's  quota  of  arms. 
Tliese  he  had  changed  to  breech  loaders,  which,  with  altera- 
tions in  the  accoutrements  and  the  purchase  above  referred  to, 
cost  $180,750.  Of  which  Moses,  by  his  own  confession, 
through  fraud,  was  to  get  $10,000.  It  was  all  charged  to  the 
state  at  $250,000. 

There  were  only  two  or  three  white  companies  in  the  state, 
and  they  were  ordered  by  Governor  Scott  to  surrender  their 
arms  and  disband  ;  and  fourteen  full  regiments  of  negroes 
were  oro^anized  before  the  election.  These  were  fullv  armed 
and  equipped  and  ammunition  issued  to  them,  as  upon  the 
eve  of  battle. 

When  called  out  on  duty  they  were  to  be  paid  under  the 
act,  and  were,  in  truth,  paid  the  same  compensation  as  officers 
and  soldiers  of  the  same  grade  in  the  Regular  Army ;  and  it 
was  held  by  the  authorities  of  the  state  at  the  time,  that  when 
they  were  attending  political  meetings  in  advocacy  of  Scott's 
election,  they  were  "on  service"  within  the  meaning  of  the 
statute.  Before  a  committee  of  the  Legislature,  ex-Governor 
Moses  testified  as  follows  with  reference  to  organizing  the 
militia:  "The  militia  was  organized  and  armed  for  political 
purposes  by  the  advice  and  consent  of  Governor  Scott,  and  I 
was  commissioned  by  Governor  Scott  to  proceed  to  Washing- 
ton and  procure  all  the  arms  and  accoutrements  possible  from 


94  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

the  United  States  Goverumeut,  and  at  the  same  time  purchase 
ammunition  and  make  the  contract  referred  to.  The  object 
was  to  arm  and  organize  the  militia  for  the  campaign  in 
1870.'^ 

The  "armed  force/'  or  constabulary,  was  organized  and 
maintained  for  the  same  purpose.  I  quote  from  two  of  the 
reports  made  by  deputies  to  the  chief  constable.  On  June 
25th,  1870,  J.  W.  Anderson,  deputy  constable,  says:  "We 
can  carry  the  county  (York  County)  if  we  get  constables 
enough,  by  encouraging  the  militia  and  frightening  the  poor 
white  men.     I  am  going  into  the  campaign  for  Scott." 

On  July  8th,  1870,  Joseph  Crews,  deputy  constable  for 
Laurens  County,  says :  "  We  are  going  to  have  a  hard  cam- 
paign up  here,  and  we  must  have  more  constables.  I  will 
carry  the  election  here  with  the  militia  if  the  constables  will 
work  with  me.  I  am  giving  out  ammunition  all  the  time. 
Tell  Scott  he  is  all  right  here  now." 

John  B.  Hubbard,  the  chief  constable,  testified  before  a 
legislative  committee,  in  1877  :  "It  was  understood  that  by 
arming  the  colored  militia  and  keeping  some  of  the  most 
influential  officers  under  pay,  that  a  full  vote  would  be 
brought  out  for  the  Republicans,  and  the  Democracy,  or  many 
of  the  weak-kneed  Democrats  intimidated.  At  the  time  the 
militia  was  organized  there  was  but,  coinparatively  speaking, 
little  lawlessness.  The  militia,  being  organized  and  armed, 
caused  an  increase  of  crime  and  bloodshed  in  most  of  the 
counties  in  proportion  to  their  numbers  and  the  number  of 
arms  and  amount  of  ammunition  furnished  them."  Again,  the 
chief  constable  says:  "Ostensibly  the  object  of  the  con- 
stabulary force  was  for  the  preservation  of  the  peace,  but  in 
reality  it  was  organized  and  used  for  political  purposes  and 
ends.  Governor  Scott  would  order  me  to  send  men  to  any 
county  where  the  Republican  party  most  needed  encourage- 
ment and  reorganization.  The  deputies  were  authorized  and 
instructed  to  attend  all  political  meetings  and  report  the  po- 
litical condition  of  the  county  to  me,  and  I  would  report  the 
same  to  the  Governor." 

Of  the  constables  thus  employed  twenty  were  elected  to 
the  Legislature  or  to  county  offices.     They  were  paid  by  the 


KECONSTRUCTIOX  IN  SOUTH   CAROLINA.  95 

state  their  mileage  and  -per  diem  while  they  overrode  the 
white  people  of  the  state  and  made  sure  of  the  election  of 
Scott  and  themselves  to  office. 

In  1869  of  506  convicts  in  the  State  Penitentiary  136 
were  pardoned,  and  in  1870,  the  year  of  the  election,  of  575 
there  were  205  pardoned,  so  that  in  one  year  more  than  one- 
third  of  all  the  criminals  in  the  penitentiary  were  turned  out 
by  the  Gov^ernor  to  prey  again  upon  the  people. 

Governor  Scott  spent  §374,000  of  the  funds  of  the  state  in 
his  canvass,  and  by  means  of  this  and  the  convincing  powerof 
armed  militia,  state  constables  and  pardoned  convicts,  he  beat 
his  opponent  over  30,000  votes  and  was  thus  enabled  to  in- 
flict himself  for  a  second  term  upon  the  state. 

In  1870  the  appropriations  by  the  General  Assembly  had 
reached  a  very  extravagant  sum  and  Governor  Scott  vetoed 
a  bill  for  legislative  expenses,  in  which  he  uses  the  following 
language :  "  I  regard  the  money  already  appropriated  daring 
this  session,  and  the  sum  included  in  this  bill,  amounting  in 
the  aggregate  to  $100,000,  as  simply  enormous  for  one  ses- 
sion. It  is  beyond  the  comprehension  of  any  one,  how  the 
General  Assembly  could  legitimately  expend  one-half  that 
amount  of  money."  This  was  most  unusual  conduct  on  the 
part  of  the  Governor,  and  so  far  as  I  can  remember  or  have 
learned,  is  the  only  occasion  in  which  he  was  ever  seized 
with  a  spasm  of  virtue  or  exhibited  any  indignation  at  the 
conduct  of  the  Legislature.  Neither  before  nor  after  this 
was  there  ever  the  slightest  adumbration  of  such  a  spirit. 

In  1871  it  was  discovered  that  the  Financial  Board  had 
illegally  issued  several  millions  of  state  bonds,  and  it  was 
determined  by  some  members  of  the  Legislature  that  Parker, 
the  treasurer  of  the  state,  and  Scott  the  Governor,  both  of 
whom  were  members  of  this  board,  should  be  impeached  for 
high  crimes  and  misdemeanors.  When  these  proceedings 
were  about  to  be  successfully  carried  through  the  House  of 
Representatives,  Scott  became  very  much  alarmed,  and  in 
order  to  save  himself  from  tlie  disgrace  of  being  impeached 
he  sent  for  two  of  his  political  associates  and  issued  to  them 
three  warrants  upon  the  armed  force  fund,  leaving  the 
amount  blank,  to  be  filled  in  by  any  sum  the  holders  deemed 


96  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

necessary.  These  three  certificates  were  afterwards  filled  up 
so  as  to  aggregate  $48,645,  and  with  this  amount  of  money 
these  two  associates  of  the  Governor,  by  bribing  members  of 
the  Legislature,  were  enabled  to  prevent  the  passage  of  the 
resolution  of  impeachment.  During  the  proceedings  it  be- 
came necessary  to  obtain  some  rulings  from  the  Speaker  of 
the  House,  and  in  order  to  secure  these  the  member  who 
made  the  motion  on  which  the  rulings  were  based  was  paid 
$500  for  his  services  and  to  Speaker  Moses  they  paid  $15,000. 
The  warrants  drawn  and  signed  by  the  Governor  were  all  made 
out  in  the  names  of  fictitious  persons  and  these  names  were 
indorsed  upon  them  and  the  money  drawn  from  the  treasury 
of  the  state.  It  was  understood,  of  course,  at  the  time  that 
the  names  were  fictitious  and  that  the  money  was  to  be  used 
for  the  purpose  of  buying  the  votes  of  members  of  the  Legis- 
lature to  prevent  the  impeachment. 

The  policy  of  South  Carolina  for  some  years  before  the 
war  had  been  to  give  state  aid  to  railroad  enterprises,  and  as 
a  consequence  she  had  become  directly  and  financially  inter- 
ested in  several  of  the  principal  roads  of  the  state. 

To  rob  the  state  of  the  most  valuable  of  this  property  and 
convert  it  by  "  due  process  of  law  '^  into  their  own  pockets, 
Governor  Scott,  John  J.  Patterson  and  others  of  their  asso- 
ciates, inaugurated  some  schemes  which  did  not  reach  their 
full  fruition  until  Scott's  second  term.  Let  me  mention  two 
cases. 

In  1868  the  Legislature  passed  an  Act  authorizing  the 
issue  of  $4,000,000  of  bonds  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Railroad 
Company,  then  constructed  for  a  distance  of  about  thirty 
miles,  guaranteeing  their  payment  and  reserving  a  lien  on 
the  road  and  its  franchises  to  save  the  state  from  loss.  At 
the  same  session  it  passed  a  similar  act  authorizing  the  Green- 
ville and  Columbia  Railroad  to  issue  $2,000,000  of  bonds 
guaranteed  by  the  state  and  reserving  a  statutory  lien  on  the 
road  to  save  the  state  harmless. 

The  stock  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Railroad  was  owned  princi- 
pally by  the  state  and  the  city  of  Charleston,  and  was  con- 
trolled by  the  Governor  of  the  state  and  the  Mayor  of  that 
city;  and  shortly  after  the  guarantee  by  the  state  of  the 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  97 

$2,000,000  of  bonds  of  the  Greenville  and  Columbia  Rail- 
road its  stock  was  bought  up  by  John  J.  Patterson  (subse- 
quently United  States  Senator),  Governor  Scott  and  other 
state  and  legislative  officers. 

21,698  shares  of  this  stock  were  owned  by  the  state  which, 
in  1869,  was  valued  by  the  controller  at  |433,960.00.  A 
bill  was  passed  through  the  Legislature  by  bribery  and  the 
procurement  of  these  officials  for  the  sale  of  the  state  stock, 
which  was  approved  March  L,  1870,  and  the  next  day  with- 
out advertisement  or  notice  to  the  public  they  became  the 
purchasers  for  §59,669.50,  all  of  .which  was  paid  out  of  funds 
of  the  state  by  an  understanding  with  and  the  manipulation 
of  H.  H.  Kimpton,  the  financial  agent  of  the  state  in  New 
York.     This  stock  did  not  cost  the  purchasers  one  cent. 

After  this  ring  thus  became  the  owners  of  the  Greenville 
and  Columbia  Railroad  the  Legislature  released  the  two 
roads,  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Greenville  and  Columbia, 
from  all  liability  on  account  of  the  bonds  issued  under  the 
former  acts,  and  left  the  state  vv  ith  a  debt  of  $6,000,000  from 
this  source  and  nothing  whatever  to  show  for  it. 

As  the  years  went  by  and  the  management  of  public  aflPairs 
for  private  gain  became  the  settled  and  acknowledged  policy 
of  the  state  there  grew  up  three  regular  combinations  amongst 
the  higher  officials  of  the  state,  designated  as  the  '^  Bond 
Riuo;"  the  "  Leo^islative  Rino;'' and  the  "  Printino^  Ring:.'^ 
The  first  of  these  had  its  foundation  in  the  following  legisla- 
tion :  Not  long  after  Governor  Scott  entered  upon  his  first 
term  as  Governor  the  Legislature  provided  for  the  creation  of 
a  Financial  Board,  and  for  the  appointment  of  a  Financial 
Agent  in  New  York.  The  agent  appointed  w^as  one  H.  H. 
Kimpton.  Pie  had  no  reputation  warranting  his  selection 
for  such  a  responsible  trust ;  he  gave  no  security  and  there 
appears  to  have  been  no  contract  made  with  him  as  to  the 
amount  of  his  compensation.  He  was  entrusted  during  about 
two  years'  operations  with  §2,700,000  of  state  bonds  and  the 
interest  and  other  charges,  not  including  his  commissions, 
amounted  in  one  year  to  §94,777.42,  or  $7,914.78  per  month, 
which  made  the  funds  advanced  to  the  state  cost  about  seven- 
teen per  cent,  per  annum  over  and  above  his  commissions. 

7 


98  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

All  the  risk  and  expense  of  this  agency  for  the  first  two 
years  of  its  existence  resulted  in  the  sale  of  $1,000,000  worth 
of  bonds  at  the  moderate  figure  of  seventy  cents  on  the  dollar, 
and  the  cost  of  effecting  this  net  result  in  that  time  was  cer- 
tainly as  much  as  $159,974.13  and  how  greatly  in  excess  of 
that  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain.  In  his  report  of  September 
30th,  1872,  which  appears  to  be  the  last  made  by  him,  we 
find  that  he  sold  in  September  of  that  year  $4,214,500  of 
South  Carolina  bonds  for  $1,238,344  and  that  on  the  balance 
of  $1,627,075.63  in  his  hands  October  1st,  1871,  his  interest 
and  commission  charges  for  one  year  amounted  to  $382,- 
936.68. 

It  is  impossible  to  ascertain  or  state  fully  the  management 
or  manipulation  of  the  finances  of  the  state  through  the 
agency  of  this  man  Kimpton.  Before  a  Legislative  com- 
mittee he  acknowledged  "the  incorrectness  of  his  accounts, 
and  admitted  that  he  was  directed  by  the  financial  board  not 
to  make  real  but  fictitious  entries;  so  frightfully  large  were 
the  expenses  of  the  transactions  of  the  agency,  in  negotiations 
of  loans,  etc.,  the  board  thought  it  best  to  keep  the  true 
amounts  in  disguise.'' 

Mr.  Pike  in  his  "  Prostrate  State,"  speaking  of  the  state 
finances  in  1873  says:  "  But,  as  the  treasury  of  South  Caro- 
lina has  been  so  thoroughly  gutted  by  the  thieves  who  have 
hitherto  had  possession  of  the  state  government,  there  is 
nothing  left  to  steal.  The  note  of  any  negro  in  the  state  is 
worth  as  much  on  the  market  as  a  South  Carolina  bond.  It 
would  puzzle  even  a  Yankee  carpet-  bagger  to  make  anything 
out  of  the  office  of  State  Treasurer  under  the  circumstances." 

During  the  six  years  from  1868  to  1874  that  Scott  was 
the  governor  of  the  state,  F.  J.  Moses,  Jr.,  was  the  speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives. 

His  chief  mode  of  illegally  procuring  public  funds  was  by 
the  issue  of  pay  certificates,  which  under  the  law  the  presid- 
ing officers  of  the  two  houses  of  the  General  Assembly  were 
authorized  to  issue  for  the  payment  of  the  salaries  of  the 
members  and  senators  and  attaches  of  the  two  Houses.  Out 
of  this  power  and  the  constant  exercise  of  it  grew  up  what 
was  familiarly  known  as  the  *^  Legislative  Ring." 


EECONSTEUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAKOLINA.  99 

This  "Ring"  was  composed  of  the  presiding  officers  and 
clerks  of  the  House  and  Senate  together  with  the  state  Treas- 
urer and  some  minor  officials.  These  certificates  could  be 
issued  legally  only  for  the  payment  of  members  and  attaches 
of  the  General  Assembly,  but  soon  it  became  the  regular 
means  by  which  the  members  of  this  ring  kept  even  with 
their  associates  of  the  other  rings  in  the  general  plundering 
of  the  state.  Eight  porters  were  employed  in  the  State 
House  and  certificates  issued  to  238  :  10  messengers  employed 
and  certificates  issued  to  140  at  one  session,  and  212  at 
another:  8  laborers  and  5  to  10  pages  were  actually  in  service 
while  certificates  were  issued  to  159  laborers  and  124  pages. 
Of  one  lot  of  150  certificates  nominally  given  to  clerks  not 
one  was  legal.  During  one  session  pay  certificates  were 
issued  amounting  to  $1,168,255.  All  of  which,  except  $200,- 
000  was  pure  and  untarnished  robbery. 

Moses  admitted  under  oath  that  at  the  request  of  Jno.  J. 
Patterson,  he  had  issued  at  one  time  to  the  latter  who  was  not 
a  member  of  the  General  Assembly,  $30,000.00  in  certificates 
upon  his  paying  to  him  $10,000  in  money  therefor. 

If  any  one  of  these  three  chief  ^^  rings''  that  controlled 
the  public  purse  and  managed  the  state's  affairs  in  those 
days  was  more  audacious  than  its  co-operative  rings  it  was 
the  '^  Printing  Ring." 

This  like  the  others  was  composed  chiefly  of  state  officers, 
the  Governor,  Attorney-General  and  others  being  members. 

The  total  cost  of  printing  in  South  Carolina  for  the  8  years 
of  Republican  domination,  1868  to  1876,  was  $1,326,589.00. 
Total  for  printing  for  78  years  previous^  1790  to  1868,  was 
$609,000.00  ;  showing  an  excess  for  cost  of  printing  in  8 
years  over  78  years  previous  of  $717,589.00. 

The  average  cos^  of  the  public  printing  under  the  Republican 
administration  per  year  was  $165,823.00 ;  average  cost  per 
annum  under  former  administrations,  $7,807.00 ;  cost  for  one 
3'ear  under  Hampton's  administration,  $6,178,00. 

Amount  appropriated  in  one  year  1872-73  by  Republicans 
for  printing  $450,000.00  ;  Amount  appropriated  in  25  years 
ending  1866,  $278,251.00  ;  Excess  of  one  year's  appropria- 
tion over  25  years,  $171,749.00. 


IQQ  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

It  would  be  easy  to  present  these  startling  amounts  in  other 
litrhts  and  compare  them  with  appropriations  for  the  same 
purpose  in  other  states,  showing  for  instance  that  the  cost  of 
printing  in  South  Carolina  in  one  year  exceeded  by  $122,- 
932.13  the  cost  of  like  work  in  Massachusetts,  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio  and  Maryland  together,  but  these  un- 
adorned figures  speak  so  powerfully  that  nothing  can  be 
added  to  their  force. 

Of  course  all  these  immense  sums  did  not  reach  the  pockets 
of  the  "  ring."  A  large  part  of  them  had  to  be  paid  to 
senators  and  members  to  smooth  the  way  for  their  bills 
through  the  Legislature. 

For  the  passage  of  one  printing  bill  for  $250,000  they 
paid  to  members  and  senators  and  others,  various  sums  aggre- 
gating $112,550. 

During  Scott's  second  administration  he  maintained  his 
former  record  by  pardoning  247  convicts. 

In  the  Autumn  of  1871  General  Grant,  then  President  of 
the  United  States,  issued  his  proclamation  suspending  the  writ 
of  habeas  corpus  in  nine  counties  of  the  state,  and  sent  a 
large  military  force  into  these  counties  to  arrest  persons 
charged  with  crime. 

About  six  hundred  citizens  of  the  state  were  arrested  and 
held  in  jail  for  weeks  and  months  ;  some  of  them  were  tried 
in  the  United  States  courts  and  convicted,  and  were  sentenced 
to  pay  fines  ranging  from  $20  to  $1000,  and  to  suffer  im- 
prisonment from  one  month  to  five  years. 

Before  the  suspension  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  there 
had  been  outbreaks  of  violence  in  several  counties,  the  cause 
of  which  was  fully  explained  by  Judge  Carpenter,  a  ]^rom- 
inent  Republican  official  of  the  state,  in  his  testimony  given 
before  the  Congressional  Committee,  in  1871. 

He  says  in  substance  that  the  pardoning  of  criminals,  the 
election  law  and  other  things  of  a  like  character  were  the  sole 
causes  of  men  taking  the  law  into  their  own  hands.  There 
was  a  great  deal  of  excitement,  a  o;reat  sense  of  insecurity  and 
a  great  feeling  of  indignation.  The  appointees  to  office  wore 
not  only  incompetent,  but  corrupt.  Men  were  made  School 
Commissioners  who  could  neither  read  nor  write.     Salaries 


EECONSTEUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  IQl 

were  increased,  public  offices  multiplied,  while  the  only  busi- 
ness of  the  officers  seemed  to  be  to  prey  upon  the  people. 

The  most  peaceable  citizens  of  the  state  felt  that  they  were 
without  a  government  to  protect  them  ;  that  in  fact  the 
government  was  inimical  to  them  ;  that  it  protected  and 
rewarded  the  criminals  while  it  punished  the  innocent  and 
law-abiding.  Under  such  circumstances  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  men  would  try  to  do  something  to  protect 
themselves. 

Towards  the  end  of  Scott's  second  term  the  political  par- 
ties made  their  nominations  for  state  and  other  offices.  The 
Republicans  named  as  their  candidate  for  governor  F.  J. 
Moses,  Jr.,  who  had  been  for  the  four  previous  years  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Representatives.  The  Conservatives  and  Bolt- 
ing Republicans  supported  for  the  Governorship  Reuben  Tom- 
linson,  who  was  thought  to  be  the  one  Republican  most  likely 
to  bring  about  some  reform.  Both  parties  criticised  severely 
before  the  public  the  practices  of  Scott's  administration,  and 
promised  a  correction  of  them.  Moses  was  elected  by  the 
usual  majority.  A  Republican  writer,  in  October,  1873,  gives 
this  opinion  of  the  past  and  the  existing  administration  : 

"  The  whole  of  the  late  administration,  which  terminated 
its  existence  in  November,  1872,  was  a  morass  of  rottenness, 
and  the  present  administration  was  born  of  the  corruption  of 
that ;  but  for  the  exhaustion  of  the  state,  there  is  no  good 
reason  to  believe  it  would  steal  less  than  its  predecessor." 

In  1860,  the  taxable  value  of  propertv  in  the  state  was 
$490,000,000,  and  the  taxes  a  little  less  than  $400,000  In 
1871,  the  taxable  value  had  been  reduced  to  $184,000,000, 
and  the  taxes  increased  to  $2,000,000.  Thus  while  the 
property  of  the  state,  between  1860  and  1871,  had  been  re- 
duced to  a  little  over  one-third  of  its  former  amount,  the 
taxes,  in  the  same  period,  had  been  increased  five  hundred 
per  cent.  In  1874,  the  last  year  of  Moses'  administration, 
the  property  of  the  state  was  assessed  for  taxation,  and  the 
assessmentfell  from  pO,000,000  to  $40,000,000  below  the 
aggregate  of  the  previous  assessment  In  1874,  2900  pieces 
of  real  estate  in  Charleston  county  alone  were  forfeited  for 
taxes.     In  19  counties  taken   together,  93,293  acres  of  land 


102  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

were  sold  in  the  same  year  for  unpaid  taxes,  and  343,971 
acres  were  forfeited  to  the  state  for  the  same  reason.  By  the 
beginning  of  the  term  of  F.  J.  Moses,  Jr.,  and  after  four 
years  of  Republican  rule,  the  debt  of  the  state  had  increased 
from  $5,407,306  to  $18,515,033,  including  past  due  and  un- 
paid interest  for  three  years.  During  three  years  no  public 
works  of  any  importance  were  begun  or  finished.  The  entire 
increase  of  $13,000,000  of  debt  represented  nothing  but  un- 
necessary and  profligate  expenditures  and  stealing. 

The  intelligent  property  owners  of  the  state,  having  practi- 
cally no  influence  on  legislation,  realizing  the  dreadful  condi- 
tion to  which  they  were  being  reduced,  and  knowing  that  no 
redress  could  be  had  through  any  branch  of  the  state  govern- 
ment, organized  in  1871,  what  was  known  as  the  Tax-payers' 
Convention.  This  body,  as  a  whole,  was  thoroughly  represent- 
ative of  the  virtue,  intelligence  and  property  of  tlie  state. 
They  discussed  fully  the  condition  of  public  affairs  and 
issued  an  address  to  the  public,  in  which  they  set  forth 
the  status  of  the  public  debt,  the  financial  condition  of  the 
state,  etc.,  and  hoped  in  this  way  to  bring  to  bear  the  honest 
sentiment  of  the  country  in  favor  of  a  change,  and  thus  stay, 
in  a  measure,  the  hand  by  which  they  were  being  ruined. 
Their  effort  produced  no  appreciable  results. 

In  1874  another  convention  was  held,  in  which  again  the 
dreadful  state  of  affairs  was  plainly  and  fully  made  known, 
and  an  appeal  issued  to  the  country. 

In  addition,  a  large  committee  was  appointed  to  proceed  to 
Washington  to  lay  before  the  President  a  full  statement  of 
the  condition  of  our  affairs,  and  to  make  known  to  him  the 
position  to  Avhich  we  had  been  reduced,  and  to  invoke  his  aid 
toward  providing  some  relief. 

With  some  difficulty,  a  meagre  sum  was  raised  from  the 
impoverished  people  to  meet  the  expenses  of  this  committee, 
but  before  they  could  reach  the  National  Capital  the  state 
officials  drew  ^2,500  of  the  money  of  these  same  tax-payers 
from  the  treasury,  and  sent  several  of  their  number  to  see 
the  President  and  arrange  that  no  heed  should  be  given  to 
the  committee  of  citizens.  So  completely  successful  was 
their  mission  that  when  the  committee  of  tax-payers  arrived, 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAEOLINA.  103 

the  mind  of  the  President  was  completely  closed  to  their 
appeal  and  they  were  not  even  heard  with  patience. 
Thus  again  the  eiForts  of  the  tax-payers  proved  utterly 
futile. 

Upon  the  Legislature  that  was  elected  in  1872,  devolved 
the  duty  of  choosing  a  United  States  Senator.  There  were 
three  candidates,  namely:  R.  B.  Elliot,  who  based  his  claims 
on  the  fact  that  he  was  the  leading  negro  politician  of  the 
state;  R.  K.  Scott,  who  had  just  retired  from  the  Governor- 
ship and  claimed  this  further  honor  on  account  of  his  services 
to  his  party,  and  John  J.  Patterson,  who  relied  solely  on  his 
money. 

With  such  arguments  and  such  a  constituency,  the  result 
was  never  in  any  doubt.  Before  a  committee  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, sixty  witnesses  from  every  part  of  the  state  testified 
under  oath  that  Patterson  had  bribed  members  of  the  Leo-is- 
lature  to  vote  for  him.  Most  of  these  witnesses  were  either 
members,  who  had  themselves  taken  the  money,  or  friends  of 
members  who  were  present  when  this  contract  yvas  made  or 
the  cash  paid,  or  the  agents  and  workers  of  Patterson,  who 
had  been  personally  engaged  in  contracting  for  and  settling 
for  the  votes. 

Votes,  in  that  election  ranged  from  $25  to  $2,000.  This 
last  sum,  of  which  one  half  was  paid,  having  been  offered  in 
the  Senate  Chamber  while  the  election  was  in  progress  be- 
tween the  first  and  second  ballots,  to  the  Senator  who  had 
nominated  Scott  and  who  says  '^  that  with  some  hesitation  he 
voted  for  Patterson." 

Two  remarks  of  Patterson  which  are  on  record  and  pre- 
served, tell  the  story  of  this  whole  transaction  in  very  suc- 
cinct form. 

Early  in  the  canvass  he  stated  to  a  member  of  the  House, 
that  $75,000  if  necessary,  would  be  spent  in  securing  his 
election,  and  at  the  end  he  declared  that  "  the  d — d  election 
had  cost  him  more  than  it  was  worth."  Charges  of  bribery 
were  made  against  Patterson,  and  he  became  so  much  alarmed 
at  the  prospects  of  a  prosecution  that  he  appealed  to  Governor 
Moses,  and  the  latter  removed  the  jury  commissioner  of  the 
county  and  had  a  friend  of  Patterson's  appointed  for  the  pur- 


104  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

pose  of  having  jury  lists  made  up  to  secure  the  new  Senators' 
safety,  and  it  was  done  accordingly.  Patterson  occupied  a 
seat  in  the  United  States  Senate  for  six  years,  but  he  repre- 
sented nothing  whatever,  in  South  Carolina.  He  represented 
simply  his  own  pocket-hook. 

During  Moses'  administration  the  pardoning  of  criminals 
became  a  simple  matter  of  bargain  and  sale.  Any  convict 
who  had  strong  friends  or  a  long  purse,  was  in  no  danger  of 
having  to  serve  out  a  sentence  in  the  Penitentiary.  So  com- 
mon and  notorious  did  the  pardoning  of  criminals  become, 
that  judges  announced  from  the  bench,  their  unwillingness  to 
put  the  people  to  the  expense  and  trouble  of  convicting  crim- 
inals for  the  Governor  to  pardon.  During  his  term  of  two 
years  he  issued  457  pardons.  On  October  31,  1874,  there  re- 
mained in  the  penitentiary  only  168  convicts,  and  Moses  par- 
doned 46  during  the  month  of  November  following,  which 
was  the  last  month  of  his  service  as  Governor. 

In  May,  1875,  Governor  Chamberlain  declared  in  an  in- 
terview with  a  correspondent  of  the  Cincinnati  Commercial, 
that  when,  at  the  end  of  Moses'  administration,  he  entered  on 
his  duties  as  Governor,  two  hundred  trial  justices  were  hold- 
ing office  by  executive  appointment,  who  could  neither  read 
nor  write  the  English  language. 

The  jurisdiction  of  these  officers  in  civil  matters  extended 
to  actions  on  contract,  for  penalties  and  forfeitures,  for  in- 
juries to  person  and  property,  and  generally  to  all  cases  where 
the  sum  claimed  did  not  exceed  one  hundred  dollars. 

Their  criminal  jurisdiction  embraced  practically  all  offences 
where  the  penalty  of  fine  or  forfeiture  did  not  exceed  one 
hundred  dollars,  or  imprisonment  in  the  jail  not  exceeding 
thirty  days. 

They  had  power  to  examine  into  treason,  felonies,  grand 
larcenies,  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  and  to  bind  over  or 
commit  those  appearing  to  be  guilty  of  these  offences. 

Every  Trial  Justice  was  empowered  to  admit  to  bail  all 
persons  except  those  charged  with  an  offence,  the  punishment 
of  which  was  death,  and  in  the  latter  case,  he  could  discharge 
the  prisoner  if  it  clearly  appeared  that  the  charge  was  not 
founded  in  probability. 


RECONSTKUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  105 

Any  two  Trial  Justices  could  grant  the  Writ  of  Habeas  Cor- 
pus  as  fully  and  effectually  as  the  highest  Judges  in  the  state. 

In  December,  1873,  the  General  Assembly  passed  an  act  to 
reduce  the  public  debt  and  provide  for  its  j^ayment. 

This  act  recognized  as  valid  of  the  principal  and  interest  of 
the  debt,  §11,480,033.91,  and  provided  for  the  issue  of  new 
bonds  of  the  state  for  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  value  of  this,  and 
repudiated  outright  $5,965,000.00  of  bonds  known  as  con- 
version bonds. 

As  the  term  of  Governor  Moses  was  coming;  to  a  close  the 
nominations  for  state  officers  were  made.  The  regular  Re- 
publicans nominated  D.  H.  Chamberlain,  for  the  governorship, 
who  had  been  the  Attorney-General  during:  Scott's  admin- 
istration;  and  the  bolting  Republicans  placed  against  him 
John  T.  Green,  a  native,  a  Republican  and  a  Circuit  Judge, 
and  again  the  Democrats  or  Conservatives  joined  them  and 
supported  their  candidate. 

The  administration  of  state  affairs  under  Moses  had  become 
so  intolerably  rotten  and  corrupt  that  the  reputable  and  honest 
people  of  the  state  were  outraged  beyond  all  expression,  and 
even  the  more  cautious  participants  in  the  schemes  of  plunder 
were  frightened  into  a  manifestation  of  opposition  to  such  a 
course.  The  election  showed  over  1:2,000  more  votes  than 
had  been  cast  at  any  time  since  1868,  and  the  majority  of  the 
regular  Republican  ticket  was  reduced  to  about  one-third  of 
the  usual  number. 

Governor  Chamberlain,  quite  in  contrast  with  his  prede- 
cessors, talked  reform  after  his  election  as  well  as  before  it. 
In  his  inaugural  address  he  exposed  unmercifully  the  ex- 
travagance of  expenditures  under  the  former  administrations 
and  insisted  that  there  must  be  a  change.  He  pointed  out 
among  other  extravagances  that  the  expenses  of  the  Legisla- 
ture for  six  years  for  mileage,  pay  of  members  and  employees, 
etc.,  had  been  $2,147,430.97  and  for  executive  contingent 
expenses  $376,832.74. 

Some  portions  of  the  negro  militia  organized  and  armed  by 
Governor  Scott  were  still  in  existence  and  in  January  1875  a 
serious  affray  occurred  in  Edgefield  county  between  men  of 
different  races.     The  usual  course  before  that  in  all  such  cases 


IQQ  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

had  been  for  the  Governor  to  work  up  these  troubles  into  insur- 
rections and  have  some  negroes  killed  and  then  appeal  to  the 
President  for  troops  to  suppress  them.  Governor  Chamberlain 
took  the  wiser  course  of  simply  issuing  his  proclamation 
directing  the  militia  and  other  military  organizations  to  dis- 
arm and  cease  all  military  exercises.  This  was  done  and  the 
trouble  was  allayed  at  once.  It  was  the  first  instance  since 
1868  in  which  a  reasonable  and  just  policy  had  been  adopted 
toward  the  white  people  of  the  state  in  such  cases,  and  their 
astonishment  and  delight  at  receiving  some  kind  consideration 
at  the  hands  of  their  own  state  gov^ernment  was  too  marked 
to  escape  notice.  The  result  fully  justified  the  wisdom  of  the 
Governor's  course.  During  the  first  sitting  of  the  Legislature 
of  1874-75,  the  Governor  had  a  long  and  severe  contest  with 
the  baser  elements  of  his  own  party.  They  endeavored  to 
have  the  State  Treasurer,  who  was  a  strong  friend  of  the 
Governor,  removed  from  office,  but  this  was  defeated  by  a 
combination  between  the  Democrats  and  some  of  the  Republi- 
can friends  of  the  Gov^ernor.  He  vetoed  during  this  session 
nineteen  bills  chiefly  on  the  grounds  of  extravagance  and 
profligacy,  and  in  every  one  he  was  sustained  by  the  same 
combination  of  political  elements. 

In  the  face  of  great  and  unrelenting  opposition  in  his  own 
party  Governor  Chamberlain,  by  the  aid  of  the  Democrats 
and  some  of  his  political  allies  in  the  Legislature,  had  been 
able  to  accomplish  some  marked  and  wholesome  reforms  in 
public  expenditures,  and  for  this  he  had  won  the  warm  praise 
of  a  number  of  the  leading  papers  and  many  of  the  promi- 
nent conservative  citizens  of  the  State.  His  course  had  done 
much  to  allay  race  antagonism,  had  created  a  greater  sense  of 
security  in  the  public  mind  and  given  the  people  some  ground 
for  the  hope  of  better  days  in  the  future. 

These  feelings  were,  however,  entirely  dissipated  by  one  act 
of  the  Legislature  of  1875,  which  set  at  defiance  all  the 
efforts  at  genuine  reform  in  the  state,  and  left  no  ground  for 
any  reasonable  man  to  base  a  belief  on  that  public  affairs 
would  ever  permanently  improve  under  the  control  of  the 
party  then  in  power. 

Eight  judges  were  to  be  chosen  that  session.     It  was  well 


EECONSTKUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  107 

known  that  the  Governor  had  expressed  himself  as  beino- 
greatly  interested  in  having  selected  men  of  ability  and  es- 
pecially of  personal  integrity. 

While  he  was  temporarily  absent  the  conspirators  went 
into  an  election  and  chose  for  two  of  the  most  important 
posts  in  the  state,  F.  J.  Moses,  Jr.  and  W.  J.  Whipper.  Mr. 
Allen,  the  author  of  "  Chamberlain's  Administration  in  South 
Carolina, '^  characterizes  this  action  as  "  an  oifence  against 
public  honor  and  safety  on  the  part  of  the  legislative  body 
more  flagrant  than  any  other  which  stained  the  era  of  recon- 
struction in  South  Carolina,  and  perhaps  the  most  alarming 
legislative  action  in  any  Southern  state.^' 

On  his  return  to  Columbia  and  learning  what  had  been 
accomplished  by  the  Republicans  of  the  General  Assembly, 
the  Governor  declared,  in  a  published  interview,  "■  This 
calamity  is  infinitely  greater,  in  my  judgment,  than  any 
which  has  yet  fallen  on  this  state,  or,  I  might  add,  upon  any 
part  of  the  South." 

A  few  days  subsequent  to  this  Governor  Chamberlain  in 
declining  an  invitation  to  the  banquet  of  a  New  England 
Society  said  :  "  I  cannot  attend  3'our  supper  to-night ;  but  if 
there  ever  was  an  hour  when  the  spirit  of  the  Puritans,  the 
spirit  of  undying,  unconquerable  enmity  and  defiance  to  wrong 
ought  to  animate  their  sons,  it  is  this  hour,  here,  in  South 
Carolina.  The  civilization  of  the  Puritan  and  the  Cavalier, 
of  the  Roundhead  and  the  Huguenot  is  in  peril.  Courage, 
determination,  union,  victory,  must  be  our  watchwords.  The 
grim  Puritans  never  quailed  under  threat  or  blow.  Let  their 
sons  now  imitate  their  example  !  " 

The  election  of  these  men  to  two  of  the  most  important 
judicial  positions  in  the  state,  in  spite  of  all  opposition,  both 
inside  and  outside  of  the  party  in  power,  sent  a  thrill  of 
horror  through  the  entire  commonwealth  and  aroused  the 
people  to  an  extent  unprecedented  for  years. 

Large  meetings  were  held  in  nearly  every  county  in  the 
state,  in  which  the  firm  determination  was  expressed  that 
these  men  should  never  be  permitted  to  enter  as  judges  into  the 
courts  of  justice.  Fortunately  the  use  of  any  forcible  means 
was  obviated  by  the  refusal  of  the  Governor  to  commission 


108  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

either  Moses  or  Whipper  upon  leo^al  grounds,  which  were 
afterwards,  iu  another  case,  approved  by  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  state.  Whipper  threatened  to  take  his  office  by  force,  but 
was  deterred  from  such  a  course  by  the  prompt  action  of  the 
Governor  in  issuing  a  proclamation,  in  which  he  dechired 
that  he  would  arrest  him  and  every  one  aiding  and  abetting 
him  as  rioters  and  disturbers  of  the  peace. 

Governor  Chamberlain,  in  a  letter  to  President  Grant, 
again  characterizes  these  men  chosen  by  his  party  as  judges 
as  follows:  ''Unless  the  entirely  universal  opinion  of  all 
who  are  familiar  with  his  career  is  mistaken,  he  (Moses)  is  as 
infamous  a  character  as  ever  in  any  age  disgraced  and  pros- 
tituted public  position.  The  character  of  W.  J.  Whij)per, 
according  to  my  belief  and  the  belief  of  all  good  men  in  the 
state,  so  far  as  I  am  informed,  differs  from  that  of  Moses  only 
in  the  extent  to  which  opportunity  has  allowed  him  to  ex- 
hibit it.  The  election  of  these  two  men  to  judicial  offices 
sends  a  thrill  of  horror  through  the  state.  It  compels  men 
of  all  parties  who  respect  decency,  virtue  or  civilization  to 
utter  their  loudest  protests  against  the  outrage  of  their 
election.'^ 

The  election  to  such  places  of  these  two  men,  not  only 
wholly  incompetent,  but  well  known  to  be  flagrantly  dis- 
honest and  corrupt  was  the  beginning  of  a  change  in  the 
state. 

At  nearly  every  one  of  the  mass  meetings  held  in  the 
different  counties  to  protest  against  this  action  of  the  General 
Assembly,  resolutions  were  adopted  by  the  people,  declaring 
that  all  hope  of  securing  even  a  tolerable  government  under 
the  dominant  party  had  been  dissipated  and  that  the  sole 
prospect  of  reform  in  public  affairs  lay  in  the  reorganization 
of  the  Democratic  party  and  its  induction  into  power. 

Governor  Chamberlain  quickly  apprehended  that  this 
would  be  the  result.  In  his  first  utterance  for  the  public, 
after  the  Moses-Whipper  affair,  he  said  :  "  I  look  upon  their 
election  as  a  horrible  disaster — a  disaster  equally  great  to  the 
state  and  to  the  Republican  party.  The  gravest  consequences 
of  all  kinds  will  follow.  One  immediate  effect  will  obvi-. 
ously  be  the  reorganization  of  the  Democratic  party  within 


RECONSTRUCTION  IX  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  109 

the  state  as  the  only  means  left,  in  the  judgment  of  its  mem- 
bers, for  opposing  a  solid  and  reliable  front  to  this  terrible 
crevasse  of  misgov^ernment  and  public  debauchery.  I  could 
have  wished,  as  a  Republican,  to  hav^e  kept  off  such  an  issue." 

He  rightly  appreciated  the  situation.  The  negroes  seemed 
to  be  elated  by  this  defiance  of  decency  upon  the  part  of  their 
chosen  Representatives  in  the  Legislature,  and  the  whites 
were  thoroughly  aroused  to  a  sense  of  the  danger  that  con- 
fronted them.  The  negro  militia  in  some  portions  of  the 
state  became  greatly  interested  in  parading  and  drilling,  and 
the  whites  seeing  this  thought  that  it  was  prudent  to  be 
ready  to  take  care  of  themselves  and  their  families. 

As  a  result  of  this  condition  of  things  there  were  several 
bloody  encounters  between  the  blacks  and  whites,  in  which  a 
number  of  persons  were  killed  and  wounded. 

These   troubles,  of  course,  did    not   conduce   to   a   kindly . 
feeling   between   the  two   races,  and    the  sentiment  that  the 
intelligent  tax-payers  of  the  state  must  control  public  affairs 
or  be  ruined  and  driven   from   their  homes  continually  grew 
and  increased  among  the  people. 

For  a  time  there  was  great  difference  of  opinion  among  the 
leading  men  of  the  state  as  to  whether  it  was  wisest  to  try 
again  the  plan  of  compromising  on  a  ticket  with  the  opposi- 
tion, or  make  a  straightout  Democratic  nomination.  The 
latter  was  finally  decided  upon.  The  other  course  had  been 
tried  for  eight  years  and  no  appreciable  benefit  had  been  de- 
rived from  it.  And  while  the  efforts  of  Governor  Chamber- 
lain in  behalf  of  economy  and  decency  had  resulted  in  some 
temporary  good,  it  had  been  made  manifest  that  he  was  unable 
to  control  his  own  party. 

In  1868  we  had  nominated  for  Governor  an  honorable  and 
able  citizen  of  the  state;  in  1870  we  had  joined  in  nomina- 
ting an  able  carpet-bagger,  whom  the  Republicans  had  before 
that  placed  on  the  bench  ;  in  1872  we  had,  in  conjunction 
with  some  Republicans,  supported  another  carpet-bag  Repub- 
can  official  who  had  some  claims  to  honesty;  and  in  1874  we 
had  again  given  our  votes  and  influence  to  a  native  Republi- 
can of  fair  ability  and  character  who  had  been  named  for 
Governor  by  the  dissatisfied  Republicans. 


110  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

In  all  of  these  several  instances  we  had  also  nominated  and 
supported  tickets  for  the  Legislature  and  county  ollices  made 
up  partly  of  blacks  and  partly  of  whites.  We  had  held  con- 
ventions of  the  tax  payers  and  ap})ealed  to  the  country,  and 
had  sent  a  delegation  to  the  Capital  of  the  Nation  for  the 
])urpose  of  acquainting  the  President  of  the  United  States 
with  the  true  condition  of  the  state,  and  had  protested  in 
every  possible  way  against  such  inhuman  tyranny. 

All  these  efforts  had  proven  to  be  worse  than  worthless, 
and  it  had  become  manifest  that  the  real  question  that 
confronted  the  people  of  the  state  was  one  of  race  su- 
premacy. 

The  Republicans  renominated  Governor  Chamberlain 
and  the  Democrats  put  in  the  field  a  full  ticket  of  white 
men,  with  General  Wade  Hampton  at  the  head  of  it.  The 
campaign  that  followed  was  the  most  exciting  ever  known 
in  the  state,  and  resulted  in  the  election  of  the  Democratic 
ticket. 

With  the  installation  of  these  officers  and  the  meeting  of 
the  General  Assembly  began  the  first  honest  and  economical 
administration  that  the  state  had  known  since  the  beginning 
of  reconstruction,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present  the  affairs 
of  the  state  have  been  managed  with  a  regard  for  the  people's 
welfare.  The  public  schools  and  the  institutions  for  higher 
education  have  been  cared  for  and  su])ported.  The  interest 
on  the  public  debt  has  been  paid,  and  instead  of  selling  six 
per  cent,  bonds  of  the  state  at  twenty-five  or  thirty  cents  on 
the  dollar,  the  four-and-a-half  per  cent,  bonds  of  the  state 
are  now  bringing  more  than  par.  Instead  of  salaries  costing 
$230,800,  as  in  1872,  they  were  reduced  to  §106,200  in  1876. 
In  place  of  paying  $712,200  for  legislative  expenses,  as  hi 
1871,  this  item  was  reduced  to  $42,000  in  1880.  The  public 
printing,  which  cost  $450,000  in  1872,  was  reduced  to  $6,900 
in  1878.  The  state,  counties,  towns  and  school  districts  have 
now  no  floating  debt  and  all  obligations  are  paid  as  they  ma- 
ture. Instead  of  profligacy  we  have  honesty  ;  instead  of 
extravagance,  economy  ;  instead  of  uneasiness,  we  have  con-  ' 
tentment,  and  instead  of  rioting,  peace. 

The  resources  of  the  state  are  being  greatly  developed ;  the 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAKOLINA.  m 

manufacturing  enterprises  are  multiplying  wonderfully  and 
the  people  are  looking  to  the  future  for  still  greater  develop- 
ment of  its  industries  and  resources. 

All  we  ask  is  to  be  let  alone,  and  that,  surely,  is  not  so 
great  a  request  that  it  cannot  or  ought  not  be  granted. 

Jno.  J.  Hemphill. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

RECONSTRUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

"  A  military  Kepublic,  a  Government  founded  on  mock  elections  and 
supported  only  by  the  sword,  is  a  movement  indeed,  but  a  retrograde  and 
disastrous  movement  from  the  regular  and  old-fashiohed  monarchical 
systems." 

"Absurd,  preposterous  is  it,  a  scoff  and  a  satire  on  free  forms  of  consti- 
tutional liberty  for  frames  of  government  to  be  prescribed  by  military 
leaders,  and  the  right  of  suffrage  to  be  exercised  at  the  point  of  the 
sword."  Daniel  Webster. 

THE  Confederacy  of  Southern  states  had  perished.  Its  great 
commanders  had  in  succession  surrendered  their  swords, 
and  their  ragged  and  hungry  soldiers,  weary  of  strife,  had 
returned  to  their  desolated  iiomes.  Mr.  Davis  was  a  captive, 
and  the  members  of  his  cabinet  were  cither  prisoners  or  exiles. 
There  was  sincere  and  universal  submission  to  the  authority 
of  the  United  States.  The  invading  armies  could  not  find  a 
single  armed  enemy  from  Maryland  to  the  Mexican  border. 
Soon  after  the  crops  of  that  disastrous  year  had  been  planted, 
masters  called  up  their  slaves  and  informed  them  that  they 
w^ere  free.  The  plow  stood  still,  and  the  freedmen  went  to 
town.  All  the  agencies  of  conjmerce  were  either  destroyed 
or  suspended.  The  private  debts  of  a  prosperous  era  had 
survived  the  means  of  payment.  Of  money  there  was  none. 
The  banks  were  broken  and  the  treasuries  of  the  towns, 
cities,  counties  and  state  were  empty.  Notes  and  bills  of  the 
state  had  become  uncurrent,  and  the  treasury  notes  and  bank 
bills  of  the  United  States  had  not  yet  flowed  into  the  country. 
There  was  cotton,  now  becoming  valuable,  stored  away  against 
the  evil  day,  but  array  officers  and  treasury  agents  were  hunt- 
ing this  last  resource  of  a  ruined  people  with  unrelenting 
rapacity.  The  railroads  were  wrecked,  and  had  no  means 
112 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  GEORGIA.  II3 

with  which  to  replace  their  tracks  and  rolling  stock.  Cities 
and  great  tracts  of  country  were  in  ashes.  Colleges  and 
schools  were  silent,  the  teachers  without  pupils  and  the  chil- 
dren without  teachers.  Even  the  great  charities  and  asylums 
of  the  State,  at  this  time  when  they  were  most  needed,  were 
unable  to  take  care  of  lunatics,  the  deaf  and  blind.  From 
Tennessee  to  Savannah,  a  region  twenty  miles  wide,  had  been 
ravaged,  and  even  the  seed  corn,  implements  of  husbandry 
and  farm  animals,  had  been  destroyed  or  removed  by  the 
army  of  General  Sherman.  The  means  of  social  enjoyment 
were  wanting,  and  thousands  lacked  even  the  means  of  sub- 
sistence. 

And  over  this  scene  of  confusion  and  wretchedness  hung 
like  a  pall,  the  apprehension  of  pains  and  penalties,  of  pro- 
scription and  humiliation. 

There  has  not  been  such  an  opportunity  for  statesmanship 
since  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  The  white  population  of 
the  state  in  1860  was  591,550,  and  yetthe  state  had  furnished 
to  the  Confederate  armies  120,000  soldiers.  (See  address  by 
the  historian  and  scholar,  Colonel  C.  C.  Jones,  Jr.,  LL.  D., 
made  at  Augusta,  April  25,  1889.) 

Such  unanimity  and  devotion  were  without  a  parallel  in 
history.  To  support  the  cause  of  independence,  the  fortunes 
and  lives  of  the  entire  people  had  been  pledged.  It  is  ob- 
vious that  persecution  would  only  endear  that  cause  to  all 
Georgians.  On  the  other  hand,  magnanimous  treatment 
would  have  vindicated  those  who  had  deprecated  secession, 
and  would  have  discredited  the  wisdom  of  those  who  had 
advocated  that  measure. 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States  had,  in  July,  1861,  re 
solved,  that  'Hhis  war  is  not  waged  on  our  part  in  any  spirit 
of  oppression,  nor  for  any  purpose  of  conquest  or  subjugation, 
nor  purpose  of  overthrowing  or  interfering  with  the  rights  or 
established  institutions  of  those  [Southern]  states,  but  to  de- 
fend and  maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitution,  and  to 
preserve  the  Union  with  all  the  dignity,  equality  and  rights 
of  the  several  states  unimpaired,  and  that  so  soon  as  these 
objects  are  accomplished,  the  war  ought  to  ccase.'^ 

The  author  of  this  resolution  was  Andrew  Johnson,  then  a 
8 


114  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Senator  from  the  State  of  Tennessee,  and,  by  the  assassination 
of  Mr.  liincoln,  he  was  now  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  If  he  and  his  party  had  stood  by  the  policy  an- 
nounced by  Congress  in  1861,  there  would  have  been  very 
few  in  Georgia,  in  1865,  to  defend  the  policy  of  secession. 

The  Governor  was  arrested  by  soldiers  and  lodged  in 
prison.  Fetters  were  riveted  upon  Mr.  Davis,  and  he  was 
kept  in  close  custody  for  two  years  without  bail  and  without 
a  trial.  Garrisons  of  United  States  troops,  often  colored 
soldiers,  invaded  every  county  and  took  charge  of  every  court- 
house. The  Freedmen^s  Bureau  interposed  between  the  farmers 
and  their  late  slaves,  and  inaugurated  distrust  and  estrange- 
ment where  there  should  have  been  kindness  and  sympathy. 
Martial  law  and  military  tribunals  displaced  the  old  system 
of  justice  and  the  ancient  jurisprudence.  Justice  was  sold, 
and  a  recovery  was  a  military  capture.  The  writer  saw  a  trial 
of  a  case  of  trover  between  two  citizens  before  an  Ohio  lieu- 
tenant in  uniform,  without  a  jury.  There  was  complete 
strangulation  of  the  state,  and  the  only  security  for  life  or 
property  was  the  military  power,  or  the  strong  hand.  And 
in  these  conditions  can  be  found  the  germs  of  the  hostility 
which  ensued  between  the  races,  and  of  the  alienation  which 
finally  made  the  South  solid  against  the  Republican  party. 

On  the  29th  of  May,  1865,  was  published  the  President's 
proclamation  of  amnesty,  from  which  were  excepted  fourteen 
classes.  These  excepted  classes  included  persons  of  experience 
and  influence,  all  of  whom  would  have  gladly  co-operated  in 
the  work  of  restoration,  and  also  those  "  the  estimated  value 
of  whose  taxable  property  was  over  twenty  thousand  dollars." 

The  proclamation  was  in  eifect  an  executive  decree  of 
wholesale  outlawry,  and  strange,  as  it  may  ap])ear  to  lawyer 
and  layman,  informations  were  soon  afterwards  filed  in  the 
United  States  Court  by  the  District  Attorney,  praying  confis- 
cation of  the  property  of  the  proscribed  classes.  And  these 
disgraceful  proceedings,  wholly  unwarranted  by  law,  resulted 
at  last  in  a  harvest  of  costs  exacted  as  a  condition  of  settle- 
ment from  people  who  were  unable  to  bear  the  burden.  This 
abuse  of  judicial  process,  previously  unknown  in  the  South, 
soon  became  familiar  as  a  means  of  extortion,  and  has  not 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  GEORGIA.  115 

yet  been  fully  eradicated  in  cases  in  which  the  Government 
is  a  party.  Examples  are  not  lacking  to  reinforce  this  state- 
ment. 

On  the  17th  of  June  in  the  same  year,  the  President  issued 
a  proclamation  by  which  James  Johnson  was  appointed  pro- 
visional Governor  of  the  state,  whose  duty  it  should  be  at  the 
earliest  practicable  period  to  prescril)e  such  rules  and  regula- 
tions as  might  be  necessary  and  proper  for  convening  a  con- 
vention composed  of  delegates  to  be  chosen  by  that  portion  of 
the  people  of  the  state  who  were  loyal  to  the  United  States  ; 
and  the  proclamation  further  provided  that  no  person  should 
be  qualified  as  an  elector,  or  should  be  eligible  as  a  member 
of  such  convention  unless  he  had  been  amnestied  and  was  a 
voter  qualified  as  prescribed  by  the  constitution  and  laws  in 
force  prior  to  the  9th  of  January,  1861,  the  date  of  the  at- 
tempted secession  of  the  state.  And  the  proclamation  further 
directed  the  military  and  nav^al  officers  and  forces  in  the  De- 
partment of  Georgia  to  aid  and  assist  the  provisional  Gover- 
nor ;  and  the  State,  the  Treasury,  the  Interior  and  Post-office 
Departments  were  directed  to  see  that  the  laws  of  their  re- 
spective departments  were  put  in  operation  in  the  state,  and 
the  District  Judge  for  the  District  of  Georgia  was  instructed 
to  hold  his  courts.  The  Attorney-General  was  directed  to 
instruct  the  proper  officers  to  libel  and  bring  to  judgment, 
confiscation  and  sale,  property  subject  to  confiscation.  And 
the  President  further  directed  that  if  suitable  residents  could 
not  be  found  for  the  Federal  appointments  in  the  state,  then 
the  several  departments  should  make  the  appointment  from 
other  states.  The  citizens  of  the  state  being  disfranchised  as 
to  Federal  offices  by  the  test  oath,  this  proclamation  was  the 
first  invitation  to  the  carpet-baggers.  They  became  very  im- 
portant factors  in  the  subsequent  history  of  the  state. 

This  scheme  of  the  President  was  a  great  departure  from 
the  plan  of  restoration  which  he  had  himself  embodied  in  the 
resolutions  of  Congress  before  cited.  But  the  provisional 
Governor  entered  upon  his  duties  with  the  earnest  co-opera- 
tion of  the  people,  because  an  opportunity  seemed  to  have 
arrived  for  the  substitution  of  civil  govei^nment  for  military 
despotism.     To  the  convention,  which  was  soon   after  called, 


116  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

there  were  chosen  delegates  of  known  conservatism  and  ia 
many  cases  men  w^io  were  originally  o})posed  to  secession. 
The  ordinance  of  secession  was  formally  repealed  or  rescinded, 
and  a  constitution  was  framed  and  adopted,  abolishing 
slavery  and  conforming  the  state  in  all  respects  to  the  new 
conditions. 

Under  pressure  from  Washington,  by  the  President  and 
members  of  Congress,  an  ordinance  w^as  adopted  by  the  con- 
vention for  the  repudiation  of  bonds,  treasury  notes  and  other 
obligations  issued  by  the  state  during  the  period  of  the  war. 
These  securities  had  been  sought  by  guardians  and  trustees 
for  the  investment  of  funds  in  their  hands,  and  all  prudent 
citizens  hoarded  them  with  care.  The  act  of  the  convention, 
by  which  they  were  declared  null,  brought  ruin  on  many 
widows  and  orphans,  and  reduced  to  penury  man}'  citizens  too 
old  to  start  life  over  again. 

The  Congress  then  in  office  was  engaged  in  the  considera- 
tion of  a  proposition  to  amend  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  so  as  to  nullify  these  state  obligations,  and  it  was 
finally  embodied  in  the  Fourteenth  Amendment,  And  these 
incidents  first  prepared  the  public  mind  to  determine  the 
legality  of  obligations  of  the  state  having  the  apparent  sanc- 
tion of  law.  The  precedent  was  afterward  followed  with 
good  reason,  when  the  people  recovered  their  liberties  in  1871. 

The  General  Assembly  chosen  by  the  people,  as  the  Con- 
stitution provided,  soon  afterward  met  at  Milledgeville,  in  the 
old  capitol,  and  Charles  J.  Jenkins,  a  man  of  exalted  char- 
acter, an  old  Whig,  was  inaugurated  as  Governor.  The 
Legislature  laid  the  necessary  taxes,  made  the  appropriations 
required  for  the  support  of  the  Government,  provided  funds 
by  loans  for  the  immediate  ^vants  of  the  state,  ratified  the 
Thirteenth  Amendment  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  invested  the  negroes  with  all  the  civil  rights  of  white 
j)ersons,  except  the  right  to  vote  and  hold  office,  and,  in  fact, 
with  all  the  privileges  and  guarantees  enjoyed  by  them  in 
many  of  the  Northern  States.  Under  these  new  laws,  the  white 
people  of  the  state  were  allowed  no  greater  superiority  over 
negroes  than  the  white  citizens  of  the  District  of  Columbia 
had  over  the  colored  population  under  the  laws  of  Congress. 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  GEORGIA.  117 

Alexander  H.  Stephens  and  Herschel  V.  Johnson,  both  of 
whom  had  been  ardent  Union  men,  Mr.  Johnson  having 
been  a  candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency  on  the  ticket  with 
Mr.  Douglass,  and  Mr.  Stephens  a  zealous  and  able  champion 
of  that  ticket,  and  both  of  whom  had^  in  the  convention  of 
1861,  eloquently  resisted  secession,  were  chosen  as  Senators  to 
the  United  States. 

It  should  also  be  noted  that  this  General  Assembly  refused 
to  ratify  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  chiefly  because  it  imposed  political  disabil- 
ities upon  the  leading  men  of  the  state,  for  no  other  reason 
than  that  they  had  served  the  people  in  the  various  positions 
to  which  they  had  been  elected  or  appointed. 

In  March,  1866,  Congress  passed  a  concurrent  resolution 
that  no  Senator  or  Representative  should  be  admitted  into 
either  branch  of  Congress  from  any  of  the  eleven  states 
which  had  been  declared  to  be  in  insurrection,  until  Congress 
should  declare  such  states  entitled  to  representation.  Mr. 
Stephens  and  Mr.  Johnson  were  repulsed  from  the  Senate, 
and  the  gentlemen  who  had  been  elected  to  the  House  were 
scarcely  able  to  present  their  credentials.  Thus  ignominiously 
failed  the  policy  of  restoration  which  the  President  had 
formulated  and  which  seemed  to  coincide  with  the  plan  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  and  thenceforth  the  old  Union  party  in  Georgia 
almost  disappeared.  This  flouting  of  the  President  and  the 
revengeful  temper  of  Congress,  as  shown  in  the  debates  of 
that  period,  against  the  white  people  of  the  South,  dispelled 
all  delusions,  and  all  differences  in  that  section  practically 
ceased. 

Leaving  out  the  memory  of  long  years  of  common  suff'erings 
and  misfortunes,  they  had  the  same  apprehensions  of  approach- 
ing oppression.  Their  only  enemies  in  Congress  belonged  to 
the  Republican  party,  and  they  were  bitter  and  vindictive; 
their  only  friends  in  power  were  Democrats.  Their  situation 
united  them  with  each  other,  and  with  the  Democratic  party. 

A.11  the  measures  of  the  Republican  party  from  this  time 
forth,  touching  Southern  affairs,  treated  the  Southern  states, 
not  as  states  in  the  Union  upon  the  theory  of  the  Constitution 
on  which  the  war  had  been  fought^  but  as  conquered  provinces. 


;ilg  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

On  the  16th  of  July,  1866,  Congress  passed  an  act  extend- 
ino-  the  provisions  of  the  act  estabhshiug  the  bureau  for  the 
reHef  of  freedmen,  and  enacting  that  the  Commissioner  should, 
under  the  direction  of  the  President,  appoint  such  agents, 
clerks  and  assistants  as  might  be  required  for  the  proper  con- 
duct of  the  bureau.  No  limit  was  tixed  for  the  number  of 
these  agents,  and  they  were  to  be  so  far  deemed  in  the  mili- 
tary service  of  the  United  States  as  to  be  under  military  juris- 
diction, and  entitled  to  the  military  protection  of  the  govern- 
ment. And  the  act  further  provided  that  the  President 
should  through  the  Commissioner  and  the  officers  of  the  bu- 
reau and  under  such  rules  and  regulations  of  the  President, 
through  the  Secretary  of  War  should  prescribe,  extend  mili- 
tary protection  and  have  military  jurisdiction  over  all  cases 
and  questions  concerning  the  free  enjoyment  of  the  personal 
immunities  and  rights  conferred  by  the  act,  until  the  state 
should  be  duly  represented  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States.  Thus  every  bureab  agent  was  a  coiu't  with  military 
jurisdiction.  Such  a  court  was  established  in  every  county  in 
the  state.  These  special  tribunals  were  officered  by  persons 
who  could  take  the  test  oath,  and  became  the  nurseries  from 
which  aliens  and  strangers  disseminated  among  the  negroes 
hate  and  rancor  towards  the  white  citizens.  And  Congress 
on  the  13th  of  the  same  month  appropriated  $6,887,700  for 
the  fiscal  year  beginning  with  the  iirst  day  of  the  month  for 
the  support  of  the  bureau,  for  salaries,  clothing  for  distribu- 
tion, for  commissary  stores,  medical  department,  transportation, 
schoolteachers,  repairs  and  rents  of  school-houses  and  asylums. 
Power  limited  by  none  of  the  safeguards  to  which  freemen 
had  been  accustomed,  the  creation  of  an  army  of  officers  and 
employees  whose  number  and  functions  were  prescribed  not 
by  Congress,  but  by  the  executive  branch,  and  a  prodigal  ap- 
propriation of  money  to  be  distributed  by  these  officers  without 
any  defined  accountability,  were  the  prerogatives  conferred  on 
this  extraordinary  institution.  And  the  administration  of  the 
system  inevitably  provoked  irritation  between  the  races, 
tempted  the  agents  to  foment  the  discords  by  which  their 
continuance  in  office  could  be  secured,  and  attracted  the  freed- 
men from  the  farms  to  the  towns.     In  the  towns  the  bureau 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  GEOEGIA.  II9 

located  the  schools  and  dispensed  provisions,  and  mendicancy 
and  prejudice,  and  heard  complaints. 

In  1867,  the  acts  known  as  the  reconstruction  acts  of  Con- 
gress were  passed  over  the  President's  veto.  These  acts  sub- 
ordinated all  government  existing  in  the  state  to  a  military 
commander,  conferring  on  him  the  authority  to  administer  all 
the  powers  of  the  state,  authorizing  him  to  appoint  and  remove 
Avhom  he  pleased,  and  life  and  liberty  were  subject  to  such 
military  commissions  or  tribunals  as  he  might  create.  The 
courts  of  the  state  could  sit,  but  only  by  permission  of  the 
general  in  command.  Those  who  had  been  members  of  any 
state  Legislature,  or  held  any  executive  or  judicial  office  in 
any  state  and  afterwards  engaged  in  the  war  against  the 
United  States,  were  disfranchised,  and  the  other  male  persons 
in  the  state,  without  regard  to  color  or  previous  condition, 
should  be  registered  as  voters  by  the  officers  of  military  crea- 
tion, and  these  registered  persons  might  vote  at  the  election 
held  under  military  supervision  for  or  against  a  convention 
and  for  delegates  to  form  a  new  constitution  for  the  state  if  a 
majority  should  be  cast  for  a  convention.  Congress  by  dis- 
franchising and  enfranchising  whom  it  pleased,  fixed  the 
basis  of  suffrage  in  the  state.  And  one  of  these  acts,  (that  of 
July  19th,)  enacted  that  no  district  commander,  or  member 
of  the  board  of  registration,  or  any  of  the  officers  or  appointees 
acting  under  them,  should  be  bound  by  any  opinion  of  any 
civil  officer  of  the  United  States.  By  the  operation  of  these 
acts,  Georgia  was  reduced  to  a  mere  military  district,  in 
which  the  will  of  the  commanding  general  was  supreme,  with 
no  right  of  appeal  from  his  orders  to  any  court,  or  to  any 
civil  officer  of  the  state  or  of  the  general  government. 

The  details  of  these  acts  have  already  been  sufficiently 
stated  in  a  previous  chapter ;  and  the  study  of  them  can 
afford  no  pleasure  to  any  American  citizen. 

The  registration  took  place  substantially  as  Congress  pre- 
scribed, and  by  General  Pope's  order,  the  election  was  held 
on  the  29th,  30th  and  31st  of  October,  and  on  the  1st  and 
2nd  of  November,  1867,  the  polls  being  kept  open  for  five  days 
under  the  management  of  army  officers,  and  with  troops  con- 
venient to  every  voting  place.     By  a  general  order  from  the 


120  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

headquarters  of  the  district,  the  conventiou  was  declared  to 
have  beeu  carried,  and  the  delegates  of  the  Republican  i^arty 
were  declared  elected.  The  delegates  were  ordered  to  meet 
in  convention,  not  at  Milledgeville,  the  capital  of  the  state, 
but  at  Atlanta,  on  the  9th  day  of  December,  and  proceed  to 
frame  a  constitution  and  civil  government  for  the  state. 

When  the  convention  met,  Foster  Blodgett,  afterwards  a 
fugitive  from  the  state,  was  elected  temporary  chairman,  and 
on  taking  the  chair,  among  other  things  said  :  ^'  To-day  the 
Republic  is  free!  This  convention  is  a  splendid  exemplifica- 
tion of  the  fact.  Gentlemen,  I  tender  you  my  congratula- 
tions. The  whole  civilized  world  greet  you  to-day,  assembled 
as  the  representatives  of  the  people  of  the  free  state  of 
Georgia  !''  And  the  permanent  president,  on  assuming  the 
chair,  said  tlrnt  "  it  will  gladden  every  patriotic  heart  to  know 
that  liberty  still  lives  in  our  grand  old  Commonwealth.'^ 

These  fine  sentiments  were  uttered  not  far  from  General 
Pope's  headquarters,  and  the  first  resolution  adopted  after 
the  organization,  informed  him  that,  ^'  in  obedience  to  his 
orders  this  convention  is  now  assembled  and  organized,  and 
invites  his  presence  in  the  convention  at  his  pleasure.^^ 

And  a  few  days  afterwards  he  was  met  at  the  door  of  the 
hall  by  a  committee  and  escorted  in  uniform  and  with  a 
^clanking  sword,  amid  applause,  to  the  right  of  the  President. 
Speeches  were  made  on  this  occasion,  but  the  manliest  was 
made  by  General  Pope.  Soon  after  the  convention  met,  the 
delegates  realized  that  no  fund  had  been  provided  to  pay  for 
their  patriotic  services,  and  an  ordiance  was  passed  to  levy 
and  collect  a  tax  for  that  purpose ;  but  as  the  slow  process  of 
taxation  could  not  relieve  immediate  wants,  the  ordinance 
further  directed  the  treasurer  of  the  state  to  advance  to  the 
convention  out  of  the  treasury  $40,000.  The  treasurer 
refused  to  honor  this  requisition,  in  the  absence  of  an  execu- 
tive warrant.  General  Pope  having  been  removed  by  the 
president  from  the  command  of  the  district,  his  successor, 
General  Meade,  early  in  January  1868,  required  Governor 
Jenkins  to  issue  a  warrant  for  the  sum  demanded  by  the 
convention.  The  Governor  refused  to  comply,  on  the  ground 
that  the  constitution  of  the  state,  which  he  had  sworn  to  sup- 


RECONSTEUCTION  IN  GEORGIA.  121 

port,  expressly  provided  that  no  money  should  be  taken  from 
the  treasury,  except  by  executive  warrant  upon  appropria- 
tions made  by  law.  The  new  commander  thereupon  issued 
an  order  deposing  the  Governor,  State  Treasurer  and  Con- 
troller General,  and  appointed  army  officers  to  execute  their 
functions.  The  gubernatorial  appointee  of  General  Meade, 
on  presenting  himself  to  assume  the  government  of  the  state, 
read  in  answer  to  a  question,  an  extract  from  his  instructions 
directing  him  in  case  of  resistance,  to  employ  such  force  as 
might  be  necessary.  Governor  Jenkins  in  his  account  of  the 
affair  said  that,  as  far  as  was  practicable  in  the  brief  interval 
allowed  him,  he  placed  the  moveable  values  of  the  state  and 
certainly  the  money  then  in  the  treasury  beyond  reach,  but 
these  military  men  took  actual  [)ossession  of  the  State  Capitol 
and  its  grounds,  of  the  executive  mansion  and  its  furniture 
and  of  the  archives  of  the  State,  proceeded  to  collect  taxes, 
seized  upon  the  income  of  the  Western  and  Atlantic  Railroad, 
then  in  good  order  and  successful  operation,  and  secured  all 
the  revenues  of  the  State  subsequently  flowing  into  the 
Treasury. 

Governor  Jenkins,  as  soon  as  action  was  taken  under 
the  reconstruction  acts,  had  repaired  to  Washington  and 
filed  a  bill  in  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  name  of  the  state, 
against  General  Pope  and  others,  seeking  to  enjoin  any 
proceedings  under  these  acts,  as  infringements  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States.  Permission  was  given  to 
file  the  bill,  (and  only  a  state  in  the  Union  could  file  such 
a  bill  in  that  court),  but  it  was  dismissed  after  argument, 
on  the  ground  that  it  alleged  neither  interference  nor  the 
threat  of  interference  with  the  property  of  the  state, 
which  allegation,  the  court  held  was  necessary  to  make  a  case 
for  their  consideration.  When  the  subsequent  seizure  of  the 
great  offices  of  the  state  and  of  all  its  accessible  property  oc- 
curred, Governor  Jenkins,  deeming  himself  still  the  rightful 
Governor  of  the  State,  again  went  before  the  Supreme  Court 
alleging  these  facts,  and  permission  was  given  to  file  the  bill ; 
but  the  permission  was  revoked  the  next  day,  and  a  new  rule 
of  practice  devised  and  enforced,  which  compelled  delays,  and 
finally  the  learned  counsel  for   the  state,  Mr.  O'Connor,  Mr. 


222  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Black  Mr.  Field  and  others,  were  told  that  there  did  not  re- 
main of  the  term,  time  enough  to  hear  and  determine  a 
motion  for  injunction.  Before  the  commencement  of  the 
next  term,  the  Atlanta  Convention  had  done  its  work.  (See 
the  report  made  by  Governor  Jenkins  in  1872,  House 
Journal,  p.  405.) 

On  the  11th  of  March,  the  convention  adopted  an  ordi- 
nance providing  that  should  it  be  necessary  for  the  convention 
after  its  adjournment  to  reassemble  it  should  do  so  at  the  call 
of  its  president  pro  tempore,  or  in  default  of  both,  by  the 
general  commanding  the  Third  Military  District,  and  or- 
dained that  an  election  should  be  held  beginning  the  20th  of 
April  following,  at  such  places  as  might  be  designated  by  the 
commanding  general,  for  voting  on  the  ratification  of  the  new 
Constitution,  and  for  the  election  of  Governor,  members  of 
the  General  Assembly,  Representatives  in  Congress  and  other 
officers,  said  election  to  be  kept  open  from  day  to  day  at  the 
discretion  of  the  commanding  general,  and  the  qualifications 
of  voters  were  to  be  the  same  as  those  prescribed  by  the  act 
of  Congress,  known  as  the  Sherman  Bill,  and  General  Meade 
was  requested  to  give  the  necessary  orders,  and  cause  due  re- 
turns to  be  made  and  certificates  of  election  to  issue.  The 
militarv  commander  published  general  orders  on  the  14th 
and  15th  of  March,  assuming  entire  chaise  of  the  election, 
providing  that  it  should  commence  on  the  20th  of  April  and 
continue  for  four  days,  prescribing  the  minutest  details  and 
providing  that  sheriffs  and  other  civil  officers  failing  to  per- 
form with  energy  and  good  faith  the  duties  required  of  them, 
and  citizens  charged  with  violation  of  the  right  of  suffrage, 
should  be  tried  and  punished  by  the  military  authority,  and 
directing  that  the  returns  of  the  election  should  be  made  to 
himself. 

The  Constitution  so  made  and  submitted  to  the  people  was 
framed  by  delegates  elected  almost  entirely  by  those  who  had 
no  right  to  vote  according  to  the  laws  of  the  state,  the  white 
people  having  almost  universally  refused  to  participate  in  the 
election.  It  proposed  the  enfranchisement  of  the  colored 
people,  and  they  were  to  vote  on  the  proposition,  and  many 
of  the  white  ])eople  were  not  allowed  this  pif  vilege.  It  was 
a  curious  plebiscit. 


EECONSTKUCTION  IN  GEOKGIA.  123 

The  Constitution  also  ordained  that  no  court  in  the  state 
should  have  jurisdiction  to  try  or  determine  any  suit  against 
any  resident  of  the  state,  upon  any  contract  or  agreement 
made  or  implied,  or  upon  any  contract  made  in  renewal  of 
any  debt  existing  prior  to  the  first  day  of  June,  1865,  and  it 
provided  for  each  head  of  a  family  a  homestead  and  exemption 
against  his  debts  of  the  aggregate  value  of  $3,000  in  gold. 

These  transparent  devices  with  others  of  a  similar  charac- 
ter, were  artfully  designed  to  attract  the  support  of  the 
debtor  class,  and  after  the  election  were  annulled  because  in 
conflict  with  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Those 
who  were  deceived  and  disappointed  by  the  scheme,  had  no 
further  reason  in  the  years  that  followed,  to  act  with  the  Re- 
publican party. 

In  the  interval  between  the  convention  and  the  election, 
the  white  people  in  some  sections  of  the  state  were  assured 
by  the  advocates  of  the  Constitution  that  after  its  ratification 
negroes  would  not  be  eligible  to  office.  The  argument  was 
that  negroes  had  no  political  rights,  except  such  as  were  con- 
ferred by  law,  and  that  the  Constitution  was  silent  on  the 
subject.  This  view  undoubtedly  beguiled  some  persons  who 
for  other  reasons  were  inclined  to  vote  for  ratification. 

Congress  on  the  12th  of  March,  of  this  year,  passed  an  act 
providing  that  a  majority  of  the  votes  actually  cast  should 
determine  the  election,  the  previous  acts  having  required  a 
majority  of  the  registered  voters.  There  was  no  longer  any 
motive  for  standing  aloof,  and  Democrats  as  well  as  Republi- 
cans nominated  candidates  for  the  various  offices.  This  policy 
of  the  Democrats  possibly  brought  some  of  their  voters  to 
support  the  Constitution,  who  wished  their  candidates  to  take 
charge  of  the  administration. 

The  election  was  held  on  the  appointed  days  and  General 
Meade  declared  that  the  Constitution  was  ratified,  and  that 
Rufus  B.  Bullock,  the  Republican  candidate  for  governor,  was 
eleeted  over  John  B.  Gordon. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  the  new  General  Assembly  met  under 
orders  from  Mr.  Bullock  and  General  Meade.  The  Gover- 
nor-elect relying  on  a  military  edict,  assumed  the  chair,  and 
proceeded  to  organize  the  two  bodies.     A  Secretary  was  desig- 


124  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

nated  by  him  to  call  the  roll  of  the  Senate,  and  Senators  were 
requested  to  present  themselves  and  take  the  oath  of  office. 
A  Democratic  Senator  inquired  of  the  Chairman  whether  ob- 
jection to  the  qualification  of  any  Senator  could  at  this  juncture 
be  entertained.  The  Chairman  decided  in  the  negative,  and 
the  call  of  the  roll  proceeded.  After  the  Senators  had  taken 
the  oath,  the  Chairman  ordered  an  election  for  president. 
This  order  having  been  executed,  and  the  Republican  candi- 
date, Benjamin  Conley,  having  received  twenty-three  votes, 
the  Chairman  declared  him  duly  elected  president  of  the  Senate. 
The  journal  further  recites  that  the  election  of  a  Secretary  of  the 
Senate  was  next  "  ordered.^^  And  after  the  President  had  made  a 
speech,  the  Grovernor-eleot  withdrew.  This  ceremony  was 
then  repeated  in  the  House  of  Bjepresentatlves,  mufatlsmnfandis. 
The  Governor- elect  put  himself  in  the  chair,  caused  to  be 
called  the  roll  of  the  members-elect  prepared  by  General 
Meade  and  "ordered^'  the  election  of  a  speaker.  During 
the  call  of  the  roll,  Mr.  Scott  moved  to  adjourn.  The  Chair 
decided  the  motion  out  of  order.  Mr.  Scott  appealed  to  the 
House,  and  the  Chairman  declared  that  there  could  be  no  ap- 
peal except  to  the  military.  Mr.  Scott  appealed  to  the  military, 
receiving  no  response,  and  the  Secretary  proceeded  with  the 
call.  R.  L.  McWliorter,  Republican,  was  by  the  Chairman 
declared  elected,  and  to  him  the  Governor  yielded  tlie  chair. 

In  reply  to  a  communication  from  the  General  Assembly, 
notifying  him  through  a  joint  committee  that  the  organization 
of  the  two  houses  had  been  perfected,  the  Governor-elect 
transmitted  a  letter  from  General  Meade,  in  which  the  Com- 
manding General  informed  his  excellency  that  he  had  no  in- 
structions to  give,  further  than  to  make  known  that  in  his 
judgment  neither  house  was  legally  organized  until  it  was 
purged  of  members  ineligible  under  the  reconstruction  acts. 
Committees  were  then  appointed  in  each  House,  charged  with 
the  duty  of  reporting  upon  the  eligibility  of  members,  and 
upon  their  reports,  each  House  resolved  that  all  its  members 
were  eligible. 

General  Meade  in  his  report,  states  that  the  provisional 
Governor  in  communicating  to  him  this  action  of  the  House, 
nevertheless,  "expressed   his   opinion,  founded  on   evidence 


RECONSTEUCTIOX  IN  GEORGIA.  125 

presented  to  him,  that  several  members  of  both  Houses  were 
ineligible  and  called  on  me  to  exercise  my  power  and  require 
said  members  to  vacate  their  seats.  Ou  reflecting  upon  this 
subject,  I  could  not  see  how  I  was  to  take  the  individual  judg- 
ment of  the  provisional  governor  in  thefaceof  asolemnactof  a 
parliamentary  body,  especially  as  from  the  testimony  presented, 
I  did  not  in  several  cases  agree  with  the  judgment  of  the  provis- 
ional governor.  .  .  .  My  judgment  was  decidedly  that  I  had 
fulfilled  my  duty  in  compelling  the  houses  to  take  the  action  they 
had  and  that  having  thus  acted,  I  had  neither  the  authority 
nor  was  it  politic  or  expedient,  to  over-rule  their  action  and 
set  up  my  judgment  in  opposition.  ...  I  allude  thus 
in  extenso  to  this  subject  because  his  excellency,  the  Governor 
of  Georgia,  in  a  public  speech  recently  delivered  at  Albion, 
N.  Y.,  is  pleased  to  attribute  the  failure  of  Georgia  to  be 
properly  reconstructed,  to  my  action  in  failing  to  purge  the 
Legislature  of  his  political  opponents,  he  having  advised  me 
when  he  urged  such  action,  that  his  friends  had  been  relieved 
of  their  disability  by  Congress."  (For  this  report  see  Senate 
election  cases,  pp.  291-2.)  The  provisional  governor  seems  to 
have  been  trying  in  his  own  way  to  recast  the  result  of  the 
late  election,  and  to  use  the  blunt  soldier  for  that  purpose,  as 
he  had  already  done  on  many  occasions. 

General  Meade,  on  the  20th  of  July,  advised  and  instructed 
the  Governor  that  he  had  no  further  opposition  to  make  to 
the  two  Houses  proceeding  with  the  business  for  which  they 
were  called  together,  and  that  he  considered  them  legally 
organized.  The  Governor  then  also  informed  the  General 
Assembly  that  they  were  required  by  the  act  of  Congress,  of 
June  25th,  1868,  to  ratify  the  fourteenth  amendment  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  A  resolution  to  that  efl^ect 
was  at  once  proposed  and  adopted.  The  same  communication 
from  the  Governor  informed  the  General  Assembly  that  they 
were  required,  •'  by  solemn  public  act,  to  declare  the  assent  of 
the  state  to  that  portion  of  the  act  of  Congress  which  makes 
null  and  void"  certain  parts  of  the^new  constitution  which 
carried  the  taint  of  repudiation  and  impaired  the  obligation 
of  contracts.  And  this  last  requirement  was  fulfilled.  This 
little  punctilio  of  Congress  is  a  surprise  under  the  circum- 
stances. 


126  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Mr.  Bullock  dropped  his  provisional  title,  and  the  state 
became  entitled  to  representation  in  Congress,  according 
to  the  act  of  June  25th.  Joshua  Hill  and  H.  V.  M.  Miller 
were  elected  United  States  Senators.  They  were  not  admitteci 
to  their  seats  until  February,  1871. 

There  had  sat  in  the  constitutional  convention  thirty-three 
negroes,  and  in  the  General  Assembly  now  in  session  about 
the  same  number  of  colored  men  had  seats.  They  had  been, 
by  their  Republican  associates  of  the  white  race,  the  carpet- 
baggers  and  other  adventurers,  seduced  into  a  state  of  dis- 
dainful scorn,  of  the  old  proprietors  of  power  in  Georgia. 
Soon  after  the  two  Houses  had  entered  upon  the  regular  busi- 
ness of  the  session,  the  question  which  had  been  discussed 
during  the  interval  between  the  convention  and  the  last  elec- 
tion, as  to  legal  right  of  the  colored  ])eople  to  hold  office, 
again  became  a  topic  of  great  interest,  and  finally  a  resolution 
was  introduced  in  each  body  declaring  them  ineligible  to  seats. 
After  a  long  discussion,  on  the  third  day  of  September,  the 
House,  by  a  vote  of  83  to  23,  passed  the  resolution,  and  25 
negroes  ceased  to  be  members.  In  the  Senate,  by  a  similar 
resolution,  passed  on  the  12th  day  of  September,  two  seats 
were  vacated.  Not  many  days  after  these  events,  the 
candidates  who  received  the  next  highest  votes  were  ad- 
mitted to  the  seats.  The  Governor  took  occasion  to 
send  a  message  to  the  House,  in  which  he  inveighed 
against  the  decision  of  the  General  Assembly  upon  the 
qualifications  of  their  own  members,  and  his  keynote  was 
that  after  the  surrender,  ^' we  were  totally  without  polit- 
ical rights  and  privileges.  Those  which  we  have  since  ac- 
quired, are  such  as  have  from  time  to  time  been  granted  us 
by  Congress."  The  view  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  was  different.  That  Court  held  that  "  the  State  (Texas) 
did  not  cease  to  be  a  state,  nor  her  citizens  to  be  citizens  of 
the  Union.''     (7  Wal.  701.) 

The  message  was  returned  to  the  Governor  with  a  resolu- 
tion to  the  eifect,  that  his  excellency  did  not  keep  their  con- 
sciences. 

The  question  of  the  eligibility  of  the  negro  to  office  in 
Georgia,  came  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state  in  1869. 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  GEORGIA.  127 

That  court  consisted  of  three  judges,  appointed  by  Bullock, 
and  confirmed  by  the  Senate.  Two  of  them  were  Republi- 
cans, and  one  was  a  Democrat  who  had  sat  upon  that  bench 
when  the  court  was  first  organized.  The  case  was  a  quo 
ivarranto  brought  up  from  the  county  of  Chatham,  by  a 
colored  man  against  whom  a  judgment  of  ouster  from  a 
county  office  had  been  granted  by  the  Superior  Court.  The 
lower  court  was  reversed  by  the  two  Republican  judges,  the 
Democratic  judge  dissenting.  But  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  one  of  the  Republican  judges,  who  was  the  Chief  Justice, 
held  that  the  right  of  the  negro  to  hold  office,  so  far  as  it  de- 
pended on  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  state,  was  subject 
to  repeal  by  the  General  Assembly.     (39  Gen.  Report.) 

The  military  administration  of  the  executive  and  judicial 
departments  of  the  state  may  require  brief  mention.  The 
Governor's  functions  were  devolved  on  an  officer  detailed 
from  the  army,  and  all  the  subordinate  departments  of  the 
executive  branch  ex})erienced  the  same  fate.  Two  eminent 
judges  of  the  Superior  Court  were  displaced  because  they 
chose  to  obey  the  law  of  the  state  rather  than  military  com- 
mands. And  all  the  judges  and  all  the  county  and  muni- 
cipal officers  who  were  not  removed  held  their  places  only  by 
the  permission  or  sufferance  of  the  district  commander.  It 
is  obvious  that  such  an  administration  of  public  affairs  could 
not  have  the  hearty  cooperation  of  the  people.  Crimes,  no 
doubt,  were  committed  in  some  instances  against  odious  per- 
sons, and  some  secret  murders  went  unpunished.  The  courts 
were  virtually  suspended,  and  army  officers  and  soldiers  not 
only  had  no  relations  of  confidence  with  the  community,  but 
were  unfit  for  civil  duties.  A  case  in  point  may  be  given  as 
an  illustration.  Durino;  the  nio-ht  of  the  30th  of  March, 
1868,  Geo.  W.  Ashburn,  a  white  man,  was  assassmated  m  a 
low,  negro  brothel  in  the  city  of  Columbus.  His  lodging 
was  in  a  back  room.  He  had  been  steward  in  a  hotel,  but, 
during  the  new  era,  had  served  as  a  member  of  the  constitu- 
tional convention.  On  the  last  day  of  the  convention  he,  as 
one  of  the  minority  of  a  committee,  and  against  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  majority,  had  caused  that  body  to  pass 
resolutions  urging  Congress  to  remove  all  political  disabilities 


128  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

from  the  people  of  the  state.  It  may  be  inferred,  with  pro- 
priety, that  he  was  not  specially  offensive  merely  on  account 
of  his  being  a  Republican.  It  was  shown  that  ho  had  per- 
sonal enemies  among  his  associates,  who  had  threatened  to 
take  his  life.  But  it  was  al  once  charged  that  the  killing  was 
a  political  murder.  The  municipal  authorities  of  the  city, 
nevertheless,  offered  a  reward  of  five  hundred  dollars  for  the 
assassins,  and  General  Meade  offered  two  thousand  dollars 
for  the  same  purpose.  The  election  on  the  ratification  of  the 
constitution,  as  well  as  of  members  of  the  General  Assembly, 
was  to  occur  in  a  few  weeks;  candidates  were  in  the  field, 
and  the  excitement  ran  higii.  The  mayor  and  aldermen  of 
the  city  were  removed  by  General  Meade,  and  his  subalterns 
substituted.  On  the  6th  of  April,  thirteen  citizens  were 
arrested  by  an  officer  of  the  army,  and  when  asked  for  his 
authority,  he  pointed  to  his  file  of  soldiers.  Nearly  all  the 
persons  arrested  were  men  of  high  position,  who,  in  the  opin- 
ion of  the  community,  would  not  have  been  capable  of  such 
an  atrocity.  One  of  them  was  a  Democratic  candidate  for 
the  General  Assembly  (now  a  member  of  Congress),  another 
was  a  candidate  for  a  county  office,  and  a  third  was  the  chair- 
man of  the  Democratic  committee,  conducting  the  canvass  of 
his  party.  It  was  supposed  that  political  motives  led  to  their 
arrest.  They  were  kept  for  a  few  days  under  guard  by 
soldiers  in  the  court-house — which  should  have  been  an  asy- 
lum against  arbitrary  arrest  and  imprisonment — and  were 
then  allowed  to  give  bond  for  their  appearance  before  General 
Meade,  whenever  required.  Three  hundred  and  ninety-three 
of  their  neighbors  eagerly  became  the  bail  of  the  prisoners. 
They  were  not  permitted  to  know  why  they  had  been  arrested, 
of  what  they  were  accused,  or  why  they  w^ere  released  on 
bond.  During  the  month  of  May  eight  arrests  were  made, 
and  the  prisoners  were  conveyed  under  guard  of  soldiers  from 
Columbus,  on  the  western  boundary  of  the  state,  to  Fort  Pu- 
laski, on  the  marshes  below  Savannah.  They  were  confined 
in  dark  cells  without  ventilation,  and  but  four  feet  by  seven. 
No  bed  or  blankets  were  furnished  them.  An  old  oyster  can 
-was  given  each  prisoner,  and  in  this  both  coffee  and  soup  were 
served.     No  kindness  from  their  friends  or  relations  or  coun- 


RECONSTKUCTION   IN  GEORGIA.  129 

sel,  nor  any  communication  from  them,  was  allowed.  They 
were  forced  to  remain  in  tliese  cells,  prostrated  by  heat  and 
tortured  by  insects.  John  Wells,  one  of  these  prisoners,  a 
negro,  was  taken  out  of  his  cell  and  put  into  a  chair  in  one  of 
the  casemates,  with  a  cannon  pointed  at  his  head  and  a  soldier 
holding  the  string,  ready,, apparently,  to  shoot  the  gun.  A 
barber  lathered  his  head  and  pretended  to  be  preparing  to 
shave  it.  After  ten  minutes  of  this  treatment  he  was  put 
back  in  his  cell,  with  the  understanding  that  if  he  did  not 
tell  something  it  would  be  worse  for  him.  Another  negro 
prisoner,  John  Stapler,  was  put  before  the  gun,  with  no  suc- 
cess. He  was  afterward  put  in  the  sweat-box  and  kept  in 
great  agony  for  thirty  hours.  When  removed  from  the  box, 
his  legs  were  swollen.  The  story  of  the  treatment  of  these 
negroes  is  taken  from  an  affidavit  made  in  Washington  by 
Wm.  H.  Reed,  one  of  the  two  detective  officers  employed  by 
General  Howard  and  General  Meade  to  procure  evidence  for 
the  government.  During  the  month  of  June  fourteen  arrests 
were  made  at  Columbus,  and  the  prisoners  were  conveyed  to 
McPherson  barracks,,  near  Atlanta.  There  they  were  placed 
in  cells  six  feet  wide  by  ten  feet  long.  These  cells  were  after- 
ward divided  by  a  partition,  reducing  their  width  to  less  than 
three  feet.  Neither  bed  nor  bedding  was  furnished  for  sev- 
eral days.  A  prisoner  lying  on  the  floor  (Dr.  Kirksey)  could, 
at  the  same  time,  touch  the  opposite  walls  with  his  elbows. 
The  Fort  Pulaski  prisoners  were  transferred  to  these  barracks, 
and  after  a  while  the  new  partitions  were  removed.  Nine  of 
the  prisoners  were  discharged  without  any  explanation,  four 
were  held  as  witnesses,  and  nine  were  detained  for  trial.  On 
the  29th  of  June  a  military  commission,  consisting  of  seven 
officers  of  high  rank,  was  convened  at  McPherson  barracks, 
by  order  of  General  Mciide,  for  the  trial  of  the  prisoners. 
The  accusation,  in  the  military  form  of  a  charge  and  specifi- 
cation, alleged,  in  technical  language,  that  they  had  killed  and 
murdered  George  A.  Ashburn,  "contrary  to  the  laws  of  said 
state,  the  good  order,  peace  and  dignity  thereof.'' 

The  trial  proceeded  for  a  month,  able  and  distinguished 
counsel  having  been  employed  on  both  sides.    It  was  watched 
with  intense  interest  in  all  parts  of  the  state.     All  the  wit- 
9 


130  V        WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

nesses  for  the  Government  who  testified  to  any  material  fa(;tfl, 
were  shown,  by  their  own  evidence,  to  have  been  exposed  to 
the  influence  of  torture  or  fear,  or  the  promise  of  immunity 
and  freedom.  W.  A.  Duke,  against  whom  more  positive  tes- 
timony was  adduced  than  against  any  other  defendant,  was 
able  to  demonstrate  by  incontestable  proofs  and  a  multitude 
of  witnesses,  that  he  was  forty  miles  from  Columbus,  on  the 
night  of  Ashburn's  murder.  General  Meade  then  dissolved 
the  commission  on  the  pretext  that  civil  government  was 
about  to  be  restored  in  Georgia,  and  the  prisoners  were 
abruptly  discharged. 

This  military  prosecution  of  honorable  citizens,  so  full  of 
exasperating  details,  and  conducted  with  such  ostentatious  de- 
fiance of  all  rights  of  freemen,  was  not  calculated  to  attract 
to  the  government  the  support  of  law-abiding  people. 

At  the  presidential  election  of  1868,  the  people  of  Georgia 
gave  a  majority  to  the  Democratic  electors,  of  45,000,  and  the 
supremacy  of  that  party  in  the  state  has  been  maintained  at 
every  subsequent  election. 

When  the  General  Assembly  met  in  January,  1869,  the 
Governor  in  his  message,  stated  that  he  had  advised  Congress 
that  the  reconstruction  acts  had  not  been  fully  executed  in  the 
state,  that  the  members  should  have  been  required  to  take  the 
oath  (commonly  known  as  the  iron-clad  oath),  prescribed  for 
officers  of  the  United  States,  that  the  members  had  decided 
their  own  qualifications  and  had  made  wrong  decisions,  and 
that  the  result  was  the  defeat  of  the  purposes  of  Congress, 
"  these  purposes  having  been  the  establishment  of  a  loyal  and 
Republican  State  Government,'^  etc.  The  Governor  in  this 
message  enforcing  these  views  upon  the  General  Assembl}^, 
quotes  with  approval  the  sentiment  that  "  it  is  certainly  the 
duty  of  district  commanders  to  take  what  the  framers  of  the 
reconstruction  laws  wanted,  to  express  as  much  as  what  they 
do  express,  and  to  execute  the  law  according  to  that  interpre- 
tation.'' And  the  Governor  contrary  to  the  opinion  of  Gen- 
eral Grant,  recommended  that  the  persons  returned  as  elected 
in  April  should  be  reassembled,  that  the  test  oath  should  be 
enforced  except  those  who  had  been  relieved  of  their  disabil- 
ities, (who  according  to  General  Meade  were  his  friends);  that 


EECONSTRUCTION   IN  GEORGIA.  131 

this  would  restore  the  colored  members ;  that  tlie  body  thus 
organized  should  decide  upon  the  eligibility  of  the  excluded 
members,  and  after  the  work  of  reconstruction  should  be 
completed,  the  test  oath  would  not  apply.  This  scheme  was 
perhaps  what  his  excellency  desired  rather  than  what  he  ex- 
pected at  this  time.  It  was  not  adopted.  General  Grant,  the 
new  President,  was  inaugurated  in  March  of  this  year,  and 
on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  the  new  Congress  met.  On 
the  22d  of  December  the  President  approved  an  "  act  to  pro- 
mote the  reconstruction  of  the  State  of  Georgia,'^  which  was 
framed  according  to  the  plan  outlined  and  recommended  by 
the  Governor. 

It  did  not  prescribe  the  iron-clad  oath,  but  it  provided  a 
test  oath  stringent  enough  to  exclude  some  persons  whom 
the  people  had  elected.  By  this  act  the  Governor  was  author- 
ized and  directed  forthwith  by  proclamation,  to  summon  all 
persons  elected  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  state  as  ap- 
peared by  the  proclamation  of  General  Meade.  The  Governor 
on  the  same  day  (December  22d),  issued  a  proclamation  sum- 
moning all  persons  elected,  &c.,  ^'  who  are  qualified,"  to  ap- 
pear at  Atlanta  on  the  10th  of  January,  1870.  A  person 
designated  as  clerk  j9?'o  tem.  was  ordered  to  organize  the  Senate 
on  that  day,  and  the  oaths  were  administered  by  a  commis- 
sioner named  by  the  Governor.  Such  Senators  as  could  take 
the  new  test  oaths  were  sworn  as  directed  on  the  day  ap- 
pointed, and  the  others  were  excluded. 

Mr.  Conley  was  again  elected  president,  and  the  two  negro 
Senators  were  again  in  their  seats.  The  president  made  an- 
other inaugural  speech,  in  which  he  said  :  "  The  Government 
has  determined  that  in  this  Republic,  which  is  not,  never  was 
and  never  can  be  a  democracy ;  that  in  this  Republic,  Repub- 
licans shall  rule." 

He  seems  to  have  adopted  the  sentiment  of  the  Governor, 
expressed  on  a  former  occasion. 

In  the  House  the  organization  proceeded  under  the  auspices 
of  A.  L.  Harris,  who  was  detailed  by  the  Governor  for  that 
purpose.  Harris  was  a  man  from  New  England,  of  enor- 
mous girth,  who  recognized  only  such  motions  as  he  desired, 
and  directed  the  proceedings  according  to  his  own  taste.     His 


132  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

will  was  the  only  parliamentary  law.  A  member  insisted  that 
the  House  had  the  right  to  choose  its  presiding  officer  even 
for  the  purpose  of  organization.  Harris  suppressed  him.  The 
incident  did  not  appear  in  the  Journal,  because  he  also  took 
control  of  the  minutes.  (Senate  Election  Cases,  p.  298.) 
He  had  the  roll  made  by  General  Meade,  called,  and  as  each 
member  appeared,  Harris  directed  him  to  be  sworn  alone. 
When  he  grew  weary,  or  for  other  reason  wished  to  terminate 
the  session  for  the  dav,  he  announced  that  the  House  would 
take  a  recess  until  a  time  named  by  him. 

The  new  reconstruction  act  provided  that  upon  ap])lication 
to  the  Government,  the  President  should  employ  such  mili- 
tary and  naval  forces  as  might  be  necessary  to  enforce  and 
execute  the  acts,  and  General  Terry  was  now  the  commander 
of  the  district.  This  officer,  perhaps  on  the  request  of  the 
Governor,  convened  a  board  of  military  officers,  instructed 
to  determine  the  qualifications  of  certain  members  of  both 
Houses,  and  the  finding  of  this  board  as  to  the  eligibility  or 
ineligibility  of  any  member  was  enforced  by  the  orders  of 
General  Terry,  and  reinforced  by  Harris. 

When  the  military  officers  had  judged  and  determined  the 
qualifications  of  Senators  and  Representatives  elected  by  citi- 
zens, and  the  obnoxious  members  had  been  excluded  from 
their  seats,  Harris,  on  the  26th  of  January,  announced  that 
the  House  would  proceed  to  the  election  of  a  Speaker,  and 
the  election  of  Mr.  McWhorter  again  took  place.  On  the 
next  day,  the  Speaker  directed  to  be  read  to  the  House  a 
communication  from  the  Governor,  presenting  the  names  of 
the  candidates  who  had  received  the  next  highest  vote  to  that 
of  each  of  the  members  excluded  by  the  military  orders  for 
ineligibility.  General  Terry  also  supported  this  view,  by  a 
letter  to  the  Governor,  on  the  day  following  that  of  the  com- 
munication of  his  excellency  to  the  Speaker.  At  first  the 
House,  no  doubt  remembering  that  the  Governor  had  re- 
garded it  as  a  reproach  to  seat  minority  candidates  on  a  for- 
mer occasion,  refused  to  accede  to  Bullock's  recommendation  • 
but  when  General  Terry  threw  his  sword  into  the  scale,  the 
House  obsequiously  reversed  its  action,  and  twelve  friends  of 
the  Governor,  in  this  way  were  admitted. 


KECONSTEUCTION  IN  GEOKGIA.  133 

In  March,  1870,  the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States  made  a  report  reviewing  this  organization 
of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  state,  in  which  report  it  is 
held  that  such  organization  was  not  warranted  by  law  in  the 
following  respects : 

"  First:  In  the  control  and  direction  of  its  proceedings  by 
Harris. 

*^  Second :  In  the  exclusion  from  taking  the  oaths  and 
from  seats  of  three  members  who  offered  to  swear  in. 

"  Third:  In  the  seating  of  persons  not  having  a  majority 
of  the  votes  of  the  electors/' 

And  on  January  23rd,  1871,  the  Judiciary  Committee  of 
the  United  States  Senate,  in  reporting  upon  the  credentials  of 
Joshua  Hill,  H.  V.  M.  Miller,  Henry  P.  Farrow  and  Richard 
H.  AVhitely,  (the  latter  two  having  been  elected  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  after  the  last  reconstruction  in  1870),  affirmed 
the  former  report,  and  decided  that  Georgia  was  a  state  in 
the  Union  and  entitled  to  representation  in  July,  1868,  and 
that  Hill  and  Miller  were  entitled  to  their  seats,  and  they 
were  soon  after  admitted  as  heretofore  stated. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  in 
December,  1869,  concurred  in  an  act  entitled  '^an  act  to  pro- 
mote the  reconstruction  of  the  state  of  Georgia,"  and  after- 
wards held  that  she  was  a  state  in  the  Union  in  1868,  and  in 
that  year  lawfully  elected  Senators  to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States. 

The  last  act  imposed  upon  the  Legislature  of  the  state  a 
requirement  that  it  should  ratify  the  fifteenth  constitutional 
amendment,  and  it  was  done  to  order. 

From  this  time,  the  Governor  and  the  General  Assembly 
were  on  excellent  terms,  and  the  current  of  legislation  encoun- 
tered no  obstruction.  His  excellency  had  triumphed.  The  state 
was  delivered  into  his  hands.  The  strangers  called  carpet- 
baggers, the  southern  Republicans,  called  by  a  name  still 
more  odious,  and  the  negro  members,  formed  the  majority  of 
the  Legislature,  and  between  them  and  the  executive  there 
were  the  kindest  relations,  because  he  had  given  them  power 
and  a  golden  opportunity.  The  tax-payers  almost  to  a  man 
had  voted  against  the  persons  who  composed  this  majority. 


134  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

To  these  tax-payers,  they  were  objects  of  very  general  execra- 
tion. If  they  had  not  been  upheld  by  military  power,  they 
s,  might  have  been  carted  about  with  placards  on  their  backs,  as 
were  the  men  whom  George  the  3d  aj)pointed  to  the  Legisla- 
ture of  Massachusetts.  The  allowance  was  nine  dollars  a  day, 
to  say  nothing  of  mileage,  free  passes  and  other  things.  The 
session  with  occasional  short  intermissions,  continued  from 
January  10th,  to  the  25th  of  October.  The  expenditures 
made  on  account  of  the  pay  and  mileage  of  members  and 
officers  amounted  during  the  term  of  this  Legislature  to  $979,- 
055 — a  sum  four  or  five  times  as  much  as  was  ever  expended 
on  the  same  account  by  any  former  Legislature.  There  were 
104  clerks,  or  nearly  one  clerk  to  every  two  members. 

The  Constitution  having  conferred  on  the  General  Assem- 
bly the  power  to  authorize  the  endorsement  by  the  state  of 
the  bonds  of  private  corporations  on  certain  terms,  there  were 
passed  at  this  session  thirty-two  acts  which  directed  state  en- 
dorsements to  be  placed  on  the  bonds  of  as  many  different 
railroads.  These  endorsements  so  authorized  with  the  con- 
tingent liability  created  by  seven  other  acts  previously  passed, 
would  have  amounted  to  $40,000,000.  All  the  railroads 
built  under  these  acts  collapsed  with  a  single  exception,  and 
the  latter  would  have  been  built  without  the  aid  of  the  state. 
All  the  bonds  that  were  so  endorsed,  with  the  same  exception, 
were  endorsed  iu  violation  of  the  terms  prescribed  by  the 
Constitution,  and  of  the  acts  providing  for  the  endorsement. 
In  order  to  hold  together  the  combination  of  members  who 
supported  these  measures,  a  resolution  was  passed  requiring 
"  that  each  and  every  bill  in  which  state  aid  is  granted,  be 
retained  by  the  President  of  the  Senate  and  Speaker  of  the 
House  respectively  until  each  and  every  such  bill  is  a(!ted 
upon,  so  that  they  may  all  go  to  the  Governor  at  once." 
This  arrangement  pooled  all  their  bills  and  consolidated  all 
their  supporting  influences.  It  was  a  conspiracy  which  en- 
abled every  member  to  command  the  vote  of  every  other 
member  who  had  such  a  bill.  It  was  supposed  to  have  been 
an  inveution  of  the  lobby. 

During  this  year,  acts  were  passed  authorizing  the  Governor 
to  issue  $2,000,000  of  seven  per  cent,  currency  bonds  upon 


EECONSTEUCTION  IN  GEORGIA.  135 

which  to  obtain  temporary  loans  for  immediate  use,  also  $3,- 
000,000  of  seven  per  cent,  gold  bonds  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
deeming bonds  of  the  state,  and  *'  for  such  other  purposes  as 
the  General  Assembly  might  direct."  These  issues  were  made, 
it  is  to  be  remembered,  although  the  ordinary  revenues  of  the 
state  were  ample  for  all  legitimate  expenditures.  Under 
another  act  passed  this  year,  the  Governor  delivered  to  a  rail- 
road company  bonds  of  the  state  to  the  amount  of  $1,800,000, 
the  state  having  already  under  another  act  endorsed  the  bonds 
of  the  same  company  to  the  amount  of  $3,300,000,  and  both 
acts  were  in  conflict  with  the  Constitution. 

At  this  session,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Governor, 
an  act  passed  releasing  to  certain  claimants,  on  a  worthless 
pretext,  which  could  deceive  no  lawyer,  property  in  the  city 
of  Atlanta  worth  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars.  The 
beneficiaries  of  this  transaction  were  known  as  the  ^'  Mitchell 
Orphans." 

Among  the  new  men  of  that  epoch  was  H.  I,  Kimball,  who 
having  failed  elsewhere  to  find  scope  and  appreciation  for  his 
great  gifts,  brought  them  to  Georgia  in  quest  of  the  opportu- 
nities which  tlie  process  of  destroying  a  state  and  then  rebuild- 
ing it  afforded.  His  was  the  genius  which  undertook  the 
construction  of  the  railroad  which  has  just  been  mentioned  as 
the  donee  of  so  much  favor  from  the  General  Assembly.  Be- 
sides he  had  other  roads  in  process  of  construction  upon  the 
credit  of  the  state  during  his  primacy,  and  in  addition  a  grand 
opera  house,  and  a  great  hotel,  in  the  city  of  Atlanta.  His 
recourse  for  the  millions  required  for  these  enterprises  was  the 
credit  of  the  state.  The  Legislature  gave  him  charters,  and 
bonds,  and  endorsed  the  bonds  of  his  corporations  at  his 
pleasure.  The  state  bought  his  opera  house  at  a  good  round 
price,  for  a  capitol.  He  was  paid  temporarily  for  this  pro- 
perty in  the  currency  bonds  to  relieve  his  urgent  wants,  and 
when  the  gold  bonds  were  engraved  and  ready  for  circulation, 
his  friend,  the  governor,  gave  him  of  these  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  with  the  understanding;  that  currency 
bonds  to  that  amount  should  be  returned.  The  latter  bonds 
he  neglected  to  restore.  He  became  the  financial  agent  of 
the  state  by  Bullock's  appointment,  and  hawked  the  bonds  of 


136  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

state  about  In  New  York  with  remarkable  freedom.  In  that 
capacity  he  went  to  that  city,  to  take  up  currency  bonds 
which  had  been  hypothecated  by  Bullock,  and  to  substitute 
the  gold  bonds.  His  letter  of  instruction  directed  him  to  cancel 
and  return  to  the  treasury  the  currency  bonds.  With  one  bank 
he  made  the  substitution  as  directed,  but  instead  of  cancelling 
and  returning  to  the  treasury  the  currency  bonds  received  of 
the  bank,  he  applied  one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  dol- 
lars of  them  to  his  own  private  use  as  colUiterals  for  loans. 
He  deposited  gold  bonds  to  a  large  amount  with  other  bankers 
who  had  currency  bonds,  but  did  not  require  the  surrender  of 
the  latter  before  he  gave  up  the  gold  bonds,  and  so  two  sets 
of  bonds  were  held  for  the  same  liability.  Some  of  these 
bankers  were  his  own  financial  associates. 

He  had  received  the  state's  endorsement  of  two  hundred  and 
seventy-five  thousand  dollars  of  bonds  of  a  railroad  company 
(other  than  that  hitherto  mentioned),  and  for  some  reason, 
having  had  an  act  passed  changing  the  name  of  the  company, 
he  received  the  endorsement  of  the  state  on  the  bonds  of  the 
road  under  the  new  name  amounting  to  three  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars,  upon  the  promise  that  he  would  use  them  to  ex- 
tinguish the  first  issue.  The  promise  was  not  fulfilled,  and 
the  new  bonds  of  the  road  went  upon  the  market  as  addi- 
tional obligations  of  the  road  and  of  the  state. 

When  Bullock  became  Governor,  the  state  owned  a  rail- 
road runniufj-  frotn  Atlanta  to  Chattanooo;a,  which  connected 

O  CD       / 

all  the  railroad  systems  of  the  state  with  the  West.  It  was 
wrecked  by  General  Sherman  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
war,  but  it  had  under  the  administration  of  Governor 
Jenkins,  and  at  great  cost,  been  put  in  excellent  condition.  It 
easily  earned  a  net  revenue  for  the  state  of  three  or  four  hun- 
dred thousand  cfoUars  a  year.  It  paid  into  the  treasury 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars  per  month  during  1869,  under  an 
appointee  of  Governor  Bullock  (Col.  Hurlbut)  with  all  the 
embarrassments  which  that  appointment  involved.  But  Col. 
Hurlbut  was  not  satisfactory  to  the  Governor,  and  in  defiance 
of  warnings  as  to  the  character  of  Foster  Blodget,  the  latter 
was  appointed  superintendent.  The  new  superintendent  of 
the  road  entered  upon  his  duties  on  the  first  day  of  January, 


RECONSTKUCTION  IN  GEORGIA.  137 

1870.  For  the  year  1869,  Hurlbut  expended  in  operating  the 
road,  §985,633.80.  During  the  year  1870,  Blodget's  expendi- 
tures aggregated  $2,043,293.87.  He  left  tlie  road  in  bad 
condition,  and  a  debt  of  over  half  a  million  which  the  state 
had  to  pay  out  of  the  treasury.  Not  less  than  a  million  of 
dollars  was  lost  by  the  change  of  superintendents. 

Under  a  provision  of  the  Constitution,  a  poll-tax  of 
one  dollar  was  levied  for  educational  purposes.  The  fund 
created  by  this  tax,  amounted  in  1870,  to  ^268,000.  In  1870 
it  was  used  to  compensate  members  of  the  General  Assembly, 
and  such  teachers  as  were  employed  in  the  public  schools  of 
that  year  went  without  compensation.  The  children  attend- 
ing schools  during  the  year  1870  were  67,1 42  white  and  10,351 
colored,  aggregating  77,493.  For  the  sake  of  comparison,  it 
may  be  here  stated  that  there  were  actually  enrolled  in  the 
public  schools  of  the  state  in  1888,  of  white  children  200,768, 
and  colored  children  120,390,  aggregating  321,896. 

In  1868,  when  Governor  Bullock  was  installed,  the  debt  of 
the  state  was  $5,827,000.  At  the  end  of  his  administration 
the  treasurer  reported  the  debt  to  be  $12,  450,000,  and  en- 
dorsed bonds  in  addition  $5,733,000,  aggregating  $18,183,000, 
and  the  bonds  of  the  state  were  no  longer  marketable,  except 
at  very  ruinous  rates.  Now  the  bonds  of  the  state  bearing 
four  and  a  half  per  cent,  are  worth  in  the  market  a  premium 
of  twenty  per  cent. 

Since  1870,  the  state  road  has  paid  into  the  treasury  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars  every  month,  or  six  million  in  twenty 
years. 

The  Governor  during  his  term  of  three  years,  pardoned 
three  hundred  and  forty-six  offenders  against  the  law.  Some 
of  these  offenders  received  pardons  before  trial.  He  granted 
seven  pardons  in  advance  of  trial  to  one  man  who  pleaded 
then  to  seven  separate  indictments.  These  acts  of  the  execu- 
tive did  not  tend  to  inspire  confidence  in  the  law,  nor  pro- 
mote the  administration  of  jnstice  in  the  Courts. 

The  taxable  property  of  the  state  in  1860  amounted  to 
$672,322,777,  in  1870  to  $226,329,769,  and  in  1889  to  $345,- 
000,000,  exclusive  of  railroad  property.  Prosperity,  such  as 
this  rapid  and  steady  increase  of  wealth  implies,  is  fair  evi- 


138  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

dence  that  good  government  has  followed  the  expiration  of 
Governor  Bullock's  term.  And  the  commerce  of  the  state 
freed  from  the  apprehension  of  misgovern ment,  it  is  confi- 
dently believed,  is  twice  as  great  as  before  the  war. 

On  the  3rd  of  October,  1870,  Bullock  a])proved  an  act  en- 
titled ^'  an  act  to  provide  for  an  election  and  to  alter  and  amend 
the  laws  in  relation  to  holding  the  elections."  It  was  drawiT 
with  great  care.  It  provided  that  an  election  for  members  of 
the  General  Assembly,  members  of  Congress  and  county 
officers  should  be  held  on  the  20th,  21st,  and  22nd  day  of 
December,  thereafter.  The  continuance  of  the  election  for 
three  days,  without  any  registration  of  voters,  gave  great 
facility  to  repeating.  One  colored  man  is  known  to  have 
voted  thirteen  times  by  the  mere  device  of  changing  his  hat 
and  his  name  each  time. 

The  law  further  provided  that  the  election  should  be  held 
only  at  the  Court  House  of  each  county,  or  in  an  incorpor- 
ated city  or  town  by  five  managers,  three  of  whom  were  to  be 
nominated  by  the  Governor,  two  by  the  ordinary  of  the  county, 
and  all  of  them  were  to  be  confirmed  by  the  Senate.  In 
those  counties  in  which  the  ordinaries  were  of  the  Governor's 
party  (and  such  was  i;he  case  in  nearly  half  of  the  counties) 
all  the  managers  were  selected  by  the  same  party  influence. 
The  act  furthermore  provided  that  the  managers  should  have 
no  power  to  refuse  ballots  of  male  persons  of  *'  apparent  full 
age,"  resident  in  the  county,  who  had  not  previously  voted, 
and  it  prohibited  all  challenges.  It  was  stuffed  with  pains 
and  penalties. 

The  political  campaign  that  ensued  was  memorable.  It 
was  not  a  race  between  two  parties,  either  of  which  would 
have  administered  public  affairs  with  honesty  and  justice  in 
all  departments.  On  the  part  of  the  Democrats,  it  was  a 
struggle  for  good  government.  It  was  a  situation  in  which  all 
good  citizens  banded  themselves  together  against  profligacy 
and  corruption  and  a  disgraceful  administration.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  negroes  were  told  by  their  leaders  that  their  defeat 
involved  the  loss  of  their  political  privileges,  and  even  of  their 
personal  freedom.  It  was  a  contest  for  supremacy  between 
those  who  had  always  been  masters,  and  those  who  had  been 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  GEORGIA.  139 

their  slaves.  It  was  a  trial  in  which  if  one  side  succeeded 
there  would  be  an  honest  administration  for  all,  and  if  the 
other  succeeded,  there  would  be  ruin  for  ali.  The  instinct  of 
caste  also  intensified  the  efforts  of  bcth  parties. 

In  Georgia  the  issue  of  such  a  struggle  could  not  be  doubt- 
ful. The  victory  was  overwhelming.  Xot  a  disorder  occurred, 
and  Btdlock's  own  managers  counted  the  votes.  Such  rejoic- 
ing was  never  known  before  in  Georgia.  The  Christmas-tide 
had  brought  a  new  redemption. 

Before  the  deputies  of  an  indignant  people  could  meet  and 
confront  him,  Bullock  had  resigned  his  office  and  fled  the 
state. 

And  it  may  be  truthfully  said  that  reconstruction  accom- 
plished not  one  useful  result,  and  left  behind  it,  not  one  pleas- 
ant recollection. 

H.  G.  Turner. 

Note. — The  journals  of  the  two  houses  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
state,  the  reports  of  the  Comptroller  General  and  the  Treasurer  of  the 
state,  tlie  messages  of  Governor  Bullock  and  of  acting  Governor  Conlev,  of 
the  years  1868,  1869,  1870,  1871  and  1872,  and  the  reports  and  testunony 
submitted  to  the  General  Assembly  in  1872  by  the  committee  appointed  to 
investigate  the  bonds  of  the  state  (Thomas  J.  Simmons,  chairman,)  and  the 
committee  appointed  to  investigate  the  administration  and  management  of 
the  VV^estern  and  Atlantic  Eailroad  (Milton  A.  Candler,  chairman,)  are 
cited  as  authorities. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

RECONSTRUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

rpHIS  fragmentary  history  of  the  reconstruction  period  in 
X     Florida  opens  about  the  time  of  the  adjournment  of  tlie 
Constitutional  convention  of  18G8. 

The  convention  had  left  two  factions  in  the  Republican 
party,  named  after  prominent  leaders  the  Richards  or  Billings 
faction  and  the  Osborn  ring.  The  result  of  the  bitter  contest 
between  them  for  the  supremacy,  during  the  days  of  the  con- 
vention, was  favorable  to  the  followers  and  supporters  of 
Osborn. 

The  old  party  leaders  of  the  ante-bellum  days  had  been  dis- 
franchised and  silenced  and  there  was  no  political  organization 
in  a  condition  to  resist  the  Republican  plan  of  controlling 
this  and  other  Southern  states  by  the  negro  vote,  directed  and 
managed  by  their  party  friends  who  had  drifted  southward 
with  the  Union  army  or  had  afterwards  followed  in  its  wake. 

The  Osborn  faction  represented  the  more  conservative  ele- 
ments of  the  Republican  party  in  Florida.  Its  leadership 
was  among  army  officers,  those  holding  Federal  positions,  and 
agents  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau.  Their  opponents  charged 
that  they  had  used  the  influence  and  patronage  of  these  posi- 
tions to  advance  their  personal  interests  and  likened  them  to 
"  hungry  wolves  around  a  carcass,"  in  their  efforts  to  secure 
political  promotion. 

Harrison  Reed  was  their  candidate  for  Governor,  AVilliam 
H.  Gleason  for  Lieutenant  Governor,  and  Charles  M.  Ham- 
ilton for  Representative  in  the  Fortieth  Congress. 

Liberty  Billings  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  ticket 
nominated  by  the  faction  named  after  him. 

The  Democrats  nominated  as  their  candidate  for  Governor, 
140 


KECONSTRUCTION   IN  FLORIDA.  141 

Colonel  George  W.  Scott,  who  had  been  famous  as  a  bold 
cavalry  leader  during  the  latter  part  of  the  war,  and  was  at 
the  time  of  the  election,  at  the  head  of  a  large  mercantile 
business  in  Tallahassee. 

All  the  machinery  of  the  election  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
Osborn  faction.  It  was  held  under  the  ordinance  framed  by 
their  convention.  Horatio  Jenkins,  Jr.,  the  president  of  the 
convention,  was  at  the  head  of  the  Board  which  canvassed 
and  announced  the  result.  The  inspectors  continued  the 
election,  under  the  law,  for  three  days  and  had  the  custody  of 
the  ballot  boxes  each  night.  Superior  numbers  did  not  neces- 
sarily decide  the  result.  Ballot  boxes  were  constructed  with 
false  bottoms  for  use  in  the  large  negro  counties,  where  the 
Billings  faction  seemed  to  be  preponderant,  and  though  the 
aperture  through  which  the  votes  were  passed  was  carefully 
sealed  each  evening,  and  the  key  was  ostentatiously  entrusted 
to  one  who  did  not  have  the  control  of  the  box,  an  ingenious 
slide  enabled  the  custodian,  in  the  seclusion  of  his  home, 
during  the  quiet  of  the  night,  to  mould  the  majority  at  will. 

A  sample  of  this  contrivance  was  sent  on  to  New  York 
after  the  election  and  placed  where  the  people  might  see  one 
of  the  instruments  through  which  the  Congressional  recon- 
struction was  accomplished. 

The  result  of  the  three  days'  election,  as  announced  by  the 
Jenkius  canvassing  board,  was  the  adoption  of  the  Osborn 
constitution  and  the  election  of  Reed,  Gleason  and  Hamilton, 
notwithstanding  the  general  belief,  among  the  supporters  of 
Billings  and  the  Democrats,  that  this  was  not  the  true  result. 
But  they  could  only  submit  to  the  power  of  the  general  gov- 
ernment, and  Reed  entered  upon  his  administration  on  the 
first  day  of  July,  1868.  The  Legislature  which  was  assembled 
rewarded  Osborn  by  electing  him  to  the  United  States  Senate, 
and  Adonijah  S.  Welch*  became  his  immediate  colleague. 

In  his  first  message  to  the  Legislature,  Gov^ernor  Reed 
heartily  endorsed  the  plan  of  reconstruction  of  which  he  was 
the  exponent  and  the  Constitution  which  had  been  framed 
under  it.  He  placed  himself  in  decided  antagonism  to  the 
old  population  who  did  not  believe  that  the  time  had  arrived 

*  In  some  of  the  records  this  name  is  spelled  Welsh. 


142  WPIY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

for  universal  suffrage.  He  semed  to  be  fully  aware  of  the 
diffiulties  which  surrounded  him,  but  entered  upon  his  work 
in  a  hopeful  spirit,  and  he  really  seems,  at  the  outset,  to  have 
desired  to  put  his  administration  upon  a  sound  and  honest 
financial  basis.  With  this  end  in  view,  he  appointed  as  his 
comptroller,  Colonel  Robert,  H.  Gamble,  a  man  of  ex^xdlent 
financial  ability,  inflexible  integrity,  thoroughly  identihcd  with 
the  state  and  her  interests,  and  universally  respected.  He  also 
appointed  James  D.  Westcott,  Jr.,  Attorney-General,  and  a  little 
later  an  Associate  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  His  father 
had  been  a  United  States  senator,  and  though  the  younger 
Westcott  had  not  then  had  an  opportunity  to  make  his  mark, 
his  future  was  full  of  promise,  and  all  who  had  been  brought 
into  business  contact  with  him  had  entire  confidence  in  his 
ability  and  integrity,  and  in  both  respects  his  career  justified 
this  confidence.  It  was  generally  understood  that  these  gen- 
tlemen severed  no  political  ties  and  entered  into  no  new 
political  associations  in  accepting  these  appointments. 

The  system  of  state  government  in  1860  was  modest  and 
inexpensive,  adapted  to  the  resources  of  a  thinly-populated 
state,  with  a  tax  valuation  of  $67,529,231,  of  which 
$29,206,632  was  the  valuation  placed  on  its  slave  property. 
The  system  included  the  following  executive  and  judicial 
ofiicers  with  their  salaries  as  stated  : 

Officers.  Salaries. 

Governor • $  2,500 

Secretary  of  State, 800 

Comptroller, 1,100 

Treasurer, 800 

Attorney-General, 500 

Adjutant-General, 500 

Three  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  at  $2500 

each, *■ 7,500 

Five  Circuit  Judges,  at  $2500  each, 12,500 

Total, $26,200 

Under  the  administration  of  Governor  Walker  directly 
after  the  war,  the  salaries  of  the  Governor  and  judges  were 
increased  to  $3000  each,  which  increased  the  total  amount 
of  these  expenditures  to  $30,700. 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  FLORIDA.  I43 

In  1869  the  total  tax  valuation  was  reduced  to  $29, 700,- 
022,  and  the  people  were  emerging  from  a  war  which  had 
left  them  impoverished,  yet  the  scale  of  expenditures  for  like 
salaries  under  the  reconstructed  Government  was  as  follows : 

Officers.  Salaries. 

Governor, I  5,000 

Lieutenant-Governor, 2,500 

Eiglit  Cabinet  officers,  at  |3000, 24,000 

Chief  Justice, 4,500 

Two  Associate  Justices,  at  $4000, 8,000 

Seven  Circuit  Judges,  at  $8500, 24,500 

Total, $68,500 

Governor  Reed,  in  his  first  message,  asked  whether  the 
Government,  notwithstanding  this  largely  increased  salary 
list,  could  be  maintained  without  imposing  any  additional 
taxation  upon  the  people  and  answered  his  own  inquiry  by 
attempting  to  demonstrate,  with  the  aid  of  an  imposing  array 
of  figures,  that  it  could.* 

The  following  table  will  compare  the  financial  management 
of  his  administration  with  that  of  some  of  his  predecessors, 
and  will  prove  how  sadly  his  expectations  went  astray,  and 
how  strong  a  tide  of  extravagance  or  corruption  carried  the 
expenditures,  far  beyond  his  figures  and  his  promises  of  good 
government. 

BECEIPTS  AND  EXPENDITURES   OF   THE  STATE   FOR   CERTAIN  YEARS 

NAMED. 

Years.  Receipts.  Expenditures. 

1860 $115,894.89  $117,808.85 

1867 161,806.21  187,6d7.63 

1868 223,433.67  234,233.80 

1869 347,097.12  374,973.23 

1870 192,488.60  295,078.50 

1871 275,005.59  410,491.19 

1872 257,233.54  304,214.35 

Thus  in  the  four  full  years  of  Reed's  administration  the 
annual  expenditures  averaged  §346,189.32,  as  compared  with 
Walker's  only  full  year  of  $187,667.63,  making  an   average 

^Assembly  Journal,  1st  Session,  1868,  pp.  55-58. 


144  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

annual  increase  of  $158,521.69.  And  notwithstanding  the 
increased  receipts,  there  was  a  deficiency  of  §312,932.42 
created  in  these  four  years. 

The  first  Legislature  under  the  new  Constitution,  met 
shortly  before  the  Governor  was  inaugurated,  and  was  Re- 
publican in  both  branches.  It  contained  some  of  the  ele- 
ments of  dissension  that  had  been  active  ever  since  the  strug- 
gle for  office  commenced  in  the  party  ranks,  but  there  was  no 
outbreak  while  the  session  continued.  These  intestine  quar- 
rels were  upon  constantly  shifting  lines,  and  some  of  the  most 
influential  who  had  supported  Reed  against  Billings  were 
soon  arrayed  against  him.  This  was  largely  owing  to  the 
immense  patronage  given  to  the  Governor  by  the  new  Con- 
stitution. Under  it  he  had  the  authority  to  appoint  every 
state  and  county  officer  except  the  Lieutenant-Governor  and 
the  constables,  and  the  Supreme  Court  decided  that  he  could 
even  appoint  a  Lieutenant-Governor  in  case  of  a  vacancy. 
As  there  were  many  aspirants  for  every  place,  the  di-sappoint- 
meuts  were  numerous  and  affi^rded  am})le  reason  for  an  ever 
increasing  list  of  malcontents,  who  were  ready  to  array  them- 
selves with  the  opposition. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  most  important  acts  of  leg- 
islation of  this  session,  which  require  mention  here. 

An  election  law  manifestly  framed  in  the  interest  of  the 
party  in  power.  It  required  no  oath  to  check  false  or  illegal 
registration.  It  promoted  repeating.  Though  the  new  Con- 
stitution required  a  registration  of  the  voters  and  the  statute 
provided  for  one,  it  enabled  any  unregistered  applicant  to 
vote  on  the  day  of  election  if  he  was  willing  to  swear  that  he 
had  been  registered. 

An  issue  of  State  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $300,000,  draw- 
ing interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent,  per  annum,  ostensibly 
to  find  the  outstanding  debt  of  the  state. 

A  law  to  control  the  official  advertising  of  the  state  in 
favor  of  newspapers  favorable  to  the  administration. 

An  act  authorizing  the  Governor  to  employ  as  many  spies 
and  detectives  as  he  saw  fit.  By  its  terms  a  secret  fund  was 
placed  at  his  disposal,  for  which  he  was  not  required  to  give 
any  official  account. 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  FLORIDA.  I45 

The  power  of  choosing  the  electors  to  vote  for  President 
and  Vice-President  was  taken  from  the  people  and  given 
to  the  Legislature. 

Various  railroad,  canal,  steamboat,  navigation  and  "  im- 
provement" companies, were  organized  and  liberal  terms  made 
with  them  in  the  shape  of  lands  actually  granted  or  author- 
ized to  be  granted  by  the  Trustees  of  the  Internal  Improve- 
ment Fund,  in  whom  the  title  was  vested. 

The  ill-will  against  Reed  began  to  assume  definite  shape 
when  the  Legislature  met  to  choose  the  electors  in  November. 
Brief  as  was  their  sitting  they  commenced  impeachment  pro- 
ceedings against  him,  but  he  was  saved  for  the  time  by  the 
Supreme  Court  which  ruled  that  there  being  no  quorum  of 
the  Senate  present  at  the  time  the  effort  at  impeachment  was 
abortive. 

Lieutenant-Governor  Gleason  was  at  the  head  of  the  oppo- 
sition, and  when  thus  attacked  Reed  was  not  inactive.  His 
Attorney  General,  on  the  19th  of  December,  filed  an  informa- 
tion in  the  nature  of  a  quo  warranto  against  Gleason  claiming 
that  he  had  no  rio-ht  to  the  office  of  Lieutenant-Governor,  be- 
cause  at  the  time  of  his  election  he  had  not  been  a  citizen  of 
Florida  for  three  years,  as  required  by  the  new  state  consti- 
tution. 

Of  course,  this  disqualification  was  well  known  to  Reed 
when  they  were  nominated  ou  the  same  ticket.  They  were 
both  from  Wisconsin,  though  the  Governor  first  reached 
Florida.  But  the  law  was  plain,  and  after  a  long  legal  fight, 
terminating  in  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  Gleason  was 
ousted. 

Reed  next  attacked  his  Secretary  of  State,  George  J.  Alden, 
who  had  arrayed  himself  openly  with  Gleason  and  other 
enemies  of  the  Governor  in  the  attempted  impeachment. 
Alden  was  removed,  and  in  selecting  his  successor  Reed 
vastly  increased  his  strength  with  the  freed  men,  whom  he 
had  wholly  ignored,  up  to  this  time,  in  his  state  appointments. 
Jonathan  C.  Gibbs,  the  new  Secretary  of  State,  was  of 
African  descent,  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  College,  in  New 
Hampshire,  and  though  he  had  but  recently  come  to  the  state, 
he  had  made  a  favorable  impression  upon  those  of  his  people 

10 


146  WflY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

with  whom  he  had  come  in  contact.  They  afterwards  showed 
their  appreciation  of  this  recognition  by  giving  Reed  a  larger 
share  of  their  support.  This  appointment  was  distasteful  to 
the  white  Republicans,  but  they  did  not  dare  to  oppose  it 
when  it  was  afterwards  sent  to  the  Senate  for  confirmation. 

The  Legislature  held  its  second  regular  session  in  June, 
1869  ;  Marcellus  L.  Stearns  became  the  Speaker  of  the  lower 
House. 

The  record  shows  a  bad  state  of  feeling  in  the  Republican 
ranks. 

The  impeachment  proceedings  were  revived  and  took 
definite  shape.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  investigate  the 
charges  against  the  Governor,  with  power  to  take  testimony. 
The  majority  of  the  committee,  made  up  of  three  Republicans 
and  two  Democrats,  reported  that  the  evidence  before  them 
sustained  two  of  the  charges. 

One  was  that  Reed  had  entertained  a  proposition  from  a 
certain  person  in  Leon  county,  to  appoint  a  friend  as  Clerk 
of  the  Court  there,  the  person  asking  for  the  appointment  to 
pay  Reed  five  hundred  dollars  for  the  use  of  the  state.  The 
five  hundred  dollars  w^re  paid  to  Reed,  the  desired  appoint- 
ment was  made,  but  the  money  failed  to  reach  the  state 
treasury. 

The  second  was,  that  an  amount  of  about  seven  thousand 
dollars,  arising  from  the  sale  of  certain  Virginia  and  other 
state  bonds,  made  under  legislative  authority  by  the  Gover- 
nor, was  paid  into  his  hands  in  lawful  money,  but  instead 
thereof  Reed  paid  into  the  state  treasury  the  same  nominal 
amount  in  state  scrip  which  was  largely  depreciated. 

It  was  charged  that  Gleason  had  failed  to  account  for  the 
funds  which  had  reached  his  hands  as  Financial  Agent  of  the 
State  under  the  appointment  of  the  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion. 

It  was  proposed  to  investigate  the  election  of  Abijah  Gil- 
bert, who  had  been  chosen  to  succed  Welch  (or  Welsh)  in  the 
United  States  Senate,  and  to  proceed  to  another  election,  upon 
the  ground  that  Gilbert's  election  had  been  effected  by  the  free 
use  of  money. 

Charges  of  wholesale  and  retail  bribery  against  different 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  FLORIDA.  147 

factions  and  individuals  were  bandied  about.  Voters  were  said 
to  have  a  regular  market  value,  and  the  recognized  leaders  of 
the  majority  were  ready,  according  to  these  accusations,  to  bar- 
gain for  the  passage  or  defeat  of  any  measure  that  the  money 
kings  of  the  lobby  were  sufficiently  interested  in  to  support 
or  oppose  by  these  corrupt  agencies.  But  though  many  of  the 
outside  world  were  ready  to  believe  all  that  these  statesmen 
charired  ao^ainst  one  another,  neither  the  accusers  nor  the 
accused  could  afford  to  continue  the  Kilkenny  cat  fight  to 
the  extinction  of  their  adversaries.  A  settlement  and  a  compro- 
mise was  reached,  and  the  assemblage  beca.ue  a  happy  family 
once  more. 

The  effort  to  elect  a  new  United  States  Senator  to  contest 
Gilbert's  seat  was,  after  some  ineffectual  balloting,  indefinitely 
postponed,  but  it  was  renewed  and  consummated  at  another 
session.  Gleasou  made  a  report  of  his  financial  doings  which 
was  accepted  as  correct. 

A  bill  was  passed,  giving  Billings  and  Richards  the  per 
diem  and  mJleao^e,  which  the  Constitutional  Convention  had 
denied  them.  The  testimony  against  Reed  was  kept  from 
the  record  and  deposited  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of 
State.  And  a  negro  member  of  the  Assembly  who  had 
joined  in  the  majority  report  against  him  offered  a  resolution 
that  it  contained  nothing  justifying  an  impeaclnnent.  The 
adoption  of  this  resolution  terminated,  for  the  time,  the  pro- 
ceedincrs  ao-ainst  the  Governor. 

Just  before  the  final  adjournment  the  Governor  was  author- 
ized to  negotiate  a  second  issue  of  six  per  cent,  bonds  to  the 
amount  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

The  history  of  this  period  should  contain  a  full  account  of 
the  complication?  arising  from  the  sale  of  some  of  the  rail- 
roads belonging  to  the  Internal  Improvement  System  of  the 
State  and  the  manao-ement  of  the  trust  fund  which  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  Governor  and  some  of  the  members  of  his  cabi- 
net, and  had  been  granted  to  the  state  by  the  liberality  of  the 
general  government.  The  subject  is  full  of  interest,  and  the 
writer  may  enter  more  fully  upon  it  at  some  other  time.  In 
this  connection  he  will  confine  himself  to  a  few  references  to 
the  matter,  here  and  there,  to  illustrate  the  general  misman- 


148  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

agement,  recklessness  and  dishonesty  which  characterized  this 
reconstruction  period. 

In  March,  1869,  the  Pensacola  and  Georgia  railroad  was 
sold  by  the  trustees,  to  the  great  injury  of  the  people  living 
in  the  counties  along  its  line.  A  large  portion  of  the  stock 
iwas  owned  by  these  counties  and  it  was  controlled  by  the 
county  commissioners  who  were  Reed's  ai)poi uteres  and  who 
made  no  effort  to  protect  it.  The  sale  was  announced  to  be  for 
cash  but  the  purchasers  were  allowed  to  make  payment  in  un- 
matured bonds,  greatly  depreciated,  worth  thirty-five  or  forty 
cents  on  the  dollar,  which  were  received  at  their  face  value. 
The  deed  was  delivered  while  there  was  an  unpaid  balance  of 
the  purchase  money  of  four  hundred  and  twelve  thousand 
four  hundred  dollars  still  due,  and  it  was  only  collected  after 
a  tedious  and  expensive  litigation,  ending  in  the  Court  of  last 
resort  at  Washington,  and  carried  to  a  successful  termination 
in  better  days,  after  the  sceptre  of  power  had  been  taken  from 
the  Republican  reconstruction ists.  The  purchasers  rerpiired 
additional  legislation  to  perfect  their  schemes,  and  some  of 
them  were  mixed  up  with  many  of  the  scandals  of  the  day. 
The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  which  had  occasion 
to  consider  all  the  facts  of  these  transactions,  says  with 
reference  to  two  of  the  most  conspicuous  actors  in  this  business : 
^'Littlefield  and  Swepson  have  both  shown  themselves  capable 
of  the  most  shameful  frauds."  * 

At  the  legislative  sessions  of  June  1869  and  January  1870 
an  arrangement  was  made  by  which  the  new  corporation,  into 
which  the  purchased  roads  was  merged,  was  to  obtain  state 
aid  to  the  amount  of  four  million  dollars  in  state  bonds.  Bri- 
bery and  corruption  were  at  these  sessions  with  open  hand. 
Littlefield  handled  plenty  of  money,  and  the  statesmen  of  all 
shades  of  color  vv^ere  unwilling  to  bestow  upon  him  as  a  gratu- 
ity the  valuable  privileges  which  he  was  able  and*  willing  to 
pay  for. 

So  much  was  said  about  the  matter  that  the  grand  jury  of 
Leon  County,  where  the  Legislature  met,  felt  bound  to  take 

*  The  following  cases  will  throw  light  upon  this  railroid  litigation: 
Anderson  vs.  i^tate  of  Florida,  91  U.  S.  667;  Railroad  Companies  vs. 
Schutte,  103  U.  S.  118  ;  Littlefield  vs.  Trustees  of  I.  I. Fund,  117  U.S.  419. 


KEC0X5TRUCT10N  IN  FLORIDA.  I49 

notice  of  it  at  the  Fall  term  of  the  Court  in  1870.  The 
record  of  the  Circuit  Court  shows  that  a  cabinet  officer,  two 
state  Senators  and  General  Littlefield  himself  were  indicted 
for  bribery  connected  directly  and  indirectly  with  this  railroad 
legislation.  Littlefield  was  charged  with  paying  Reed  twelve 
thousand  dollars  for  approving  his  bill.  Senator  Charles  H. 
Pearce,  of  Tallahassee,  a  negro  preacher,  generally  known  as 
Bishop  Pearce,  was  indicted  for  offering  bribes  to  other  brothers 
in  black  to  induce  them  to  vote  against  the  impeachment  of 
Keed  for  his  alleged  bribery  as  well  as  other  crimes.  Pearce 
was  tried  before  a  jury  upon  one  of  these  indictments  and 
found  guilty,  and  on  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court,  the  judg- 
ment against  him  was  sustained.  But  he  was  afterwards  par- 
doned and  was  one  of  the  counted  in  electors  who  voted  for 
Hayes  and  Wheeler  in  1876. 

The  zealous  State's  Attorney  who  directed  the  investigation 
which  resulted  in  these  indictments  soon  after  lost  his  official 
head,  and  Pearce  was  the  only  one  of  the  accused  persons 
who  was  ever  brought  to  trial. 

The  regular  session  of  1870  found  the  treasury  on  the 
verge  of  bankruptcy  and  the  administration  torn  by  a  contin- 
uation of  its  internal  dissensions  and  weakened  by  the  alien- 
ation of  the  conservative  influences  which  had  met  Reed's  ad- 
vances and  promises  of  good  government  in  a  friendly  spirit. 

The  taxes  were  payable  in  Comptroller's  warrants  and 
Treasurer's  certificates,  known  as  state  scrip.  An  economical 
management  of  the  finances  would  have  kept  this  scrip  from 
serious  depreciation.  But  the  constantly  increasing  expendi- 
tures, so  far  beyond  Reed's  own  figures,  carried  its  price 
steadily  downward.  By  this  time  it  sold  at  fifty  cents  on  the 
dollar,  and  often  for  less  when  there  was  no  immediate 
demand  for  it  for  the  payment  of  taxes.  The  evil  was 
increased  by  the  officials  who  handled  the  people's  money, 
from  the  Governor  downward.  Many  of  these  financial  offi- 
cers were  among  the  most  active  in  trading  in  it,  and  thus 
depreciating  the  state's  credit  to  their  personal  gain.  The 
money  that  reached  the  hands  of  these  official  speculators  was 
transformed  into  the  depreciated  scrip  by  the  time  it  reached 
the  treasury. 


150  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

The  following  statement,  based  upon  the  Comptroller's 
Report,  will  give  some  idea  of  the  ratio  of  increase  of  the 
state  expenditures : — 

Expenses.  1860.  1869. 

Legislature, $11,057.00  $42,959.90 

Officers  of  Legislature,    .   .    .  1,580.00  5,655.80 

Printing  of        do.           ...  4,500.00  17,205.49 

Stationery  of     do.           ...  455.58  1,799.00 

Total, §17,592.58        $07,620.19* 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  printing  alone,  under  the  new 
order  of  things,  cost  about  as  much  as  the  entire  legislative 
expenses  had  formerly  amounted  to,  and  the  increase  in  the 
printing  and  stationery  accounts  occurrcnl  at  a  time  wlien 
ignorance  and  illiteracy  barred  no  one  from  membership  in 
Senate  or  Assembly. 

The  Governor  had  hoped  to  provide  for  the  increasing  ex- 
penses by  the  sale  of  the  bonds  which  the  Legislature  had 
authorized,  but  the  wasteful  extravagance  of  the  Government 
soon  became  known  in  business  circles  throughout  the  country, 
and  he  was  successful  in  getting  but  small  relief  from  this 
source,  and  only  upon  most  unf-ivorable  terms.  The  liittlefield 
and  Swepson  issue  of  four  millions,  which  was  ready  for  the 
market  at  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar,  if  no  better  terms  could  be 
obtained,  seriously  embarrassed  the  negotiations  of  the  other 
state  bonds. 

The  Comptroller  stated  in  his  annual  report  that  there  was 
no  money  in  the  treasury,  and  that  the  resources  of  the  state 
"were  much  weakened  by  incompetent  and  irresponsible 
assessors  and  collectors  of  revenue.''  f 

The  Treasurer  stated  that  the  delinquent  list  was  ruinously 
large,  and  that  the  blame  rested  mainly  upon  the  revenue 
officers  of  the  state,  whom  he  plainly  intimated  were  deficient 
in  good  business  qualifications  and  integrity.  In  finding  a 
cause  for  this,  he  says,  "Under  the  disqualifying  clause  of 
the  Fourteenth  Amendment,  it  has  been,  and  is,  impossible, 

^Assembly  Journal,  third  session,  1870,  Appendix,  p.  8. 
t  Assembly  Journal,  1870,  Appendix,  p.  5.     Same,  p.  10. 


KECONSTRUCTION  IX  FLORIDA.  151 

in  many  counties  of  the  state,  to  find  men  competent  for  these 
places.''  It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  amendment  re- 
ferred to  excluded  most  of  the  ante  bellum  population  from 
holding  office,  and  left  the  responsibility  of  government  with 
the  freedmen  and  their  new  Republican  allies. 

Reed  was  still  kept  under  the  shadow  of  impeachment. 
The  majority  of  the  committee  appointed  to  investigate  the 
charges  of  dishonesty,  corruption,  malfeasance  and  incompe- 
tency preferred  against  him,  reported  that  they  were  sustained 
by  the  evidence,  but  for  the  time  he  was  spared,  on  a  close 
vote  by  the  numerical  strength  of  his  faithful  black  allies. 

About  this  time  the  Governor  and  other  trustees  of  the 
Internal  Improvement  Fund  incurred  the  discipline  of  the 
United  States  Circuit  Court. 

They  undertook  to  aid  some  of  the  wild  cat  corporations 
which  had  been  chartered  by  the  Legislature  by  giving  them 
large  quantities  of  land  or  selling  it  at  nominal  prices.  A 
large  creditor  of  the  fund,  Francis  Vose  of  Massachusetts, 
who  held  bonds  issued  by  the  trustees  in  aid  of  the  Florida 
Railroad  Company,  filed  a  bill  complaining  of  the  mal-ad- 
ministration  of  the  trust,  alleging  the  w^aste  and  destruction 
of  the  fund  by  selling  at  nominal  prices  the  lands  by  the  hun- 
dred thousand  and  even  million  acres,  and  the  diversion  of 
the  funds  comino;  to  their  hands  from  its  lawful  and  lesfiti- 
mate  use.  It  was  prayed  that  the  fraudulent  conveyances  be 
set  aside,  that  an  injunction  be  granted  to  restrain  the  trustees 
from  further  waste,  and  that  the  fund  be  taken  from  them  and 
placed  in  the  hands  of  a  receiver. 

On  the  sixth  day  of  December,  1870,  Justice  Woods  granted 
the  injunction.  It  recites  the  following  acts:  '^  You  the  said 
trustees  are  misappropriating  the  funds  belonging  to  the  said 
trust,  are  improperly  and  fraudulently  misa})propriating  the 
same,  are  selling  and  transferring  said  land  in  amounts  and 
manners  and  for  considerations  that  are  wholly  inconsistent 
with  and  violative  of  said  act  ;  that  vou  are  donatino^  and  dis- 
posing  of  the  same  for  merely  nominal  prices  and  for  scrip 
and  state  warrants  not  recognized  as  the  lawful  currency  of 
the  United  States.''  It  goes  on  to  recite  an  engagement  for 
the  sale  of  one  million  one  hundred  thousand  acres  of  the 


152  WHY  TPIE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

trust  lands,  "  at  the  nominal  price  of  ten  cents  per  acre."  It 
goes  on  further  to  charge,  "  And  that  thus  you  the  said  trus- 
tees are  wasting  and  destroying  the  land  and  the  fund  so 
vested  in  you  by  the  said  act  of  1855  and  by  the  foregoing 
and  by  other  lawless  and  fraudulent  acts  are  diverting  the 
moneys  which  have  come  and  are  coming  into  your  hands  by 
virtue  of  said  trust  from  the  payment  of  coupons  in  the  order 
in  which  they  fell  due,"  etc.  A  penalty  of  $10,000  for  con- 
tempt was  fixed  in  case  the  injunction  against  the  continuance 
of  these  wrongful  acts  was  disobeyed. 

Notwithstanding  the  injunction,  all  of  the  trustees,  except 
Col.  Gamble,  on  the  tenth  day  of  February,  1871,  ''  for  and  in 
the  consideration  of  the  sum  of  one  dollar  to  them  in  hand 
paid,"  conveyed  to  one  of  the  companies,  with  which  they  had 
been  contracting,  1,360,600  acres  of  the  trust  land.  There- 
upon the  complainant,  Francis  Vose,  brought  the  matter  to  the 
attention  of  the  Court  by  petition,  and  Justice  Woods,  on  the 
seventeenth  day  of  April,  1871,  made  an  order  requiring  the 
disobedient  trustees  to  show  cause  why  they  should  not  be 
held  in  contempt. 

The  conveyances  were  declared  void,  a  re  conveyance  of 
the  lands  to  the  trustees  was  ordered,  and  in  June,  1872,  the 
vast  Internal  Improvement  Fund  of  the  state  was  taken  from 
the  trustees  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  receiver,  who  was 
continued  in  charge  until  after  the  Republican  party  went 
out  of  power.  Under  a  different  management  of  the  affairs 
of  the  state  these  unfortunate  complications  were  unravelled 
and  the  litigation  was  terminated. 

By  the  same  order  an  attachment  was  granted  against  the 
trustees  who  had  signed  the  objectionable  deeds  and  at  the 
December  term,  to  which  it  was  returnable,  the  people  of 
Florida  had  the  mortification  of  seeing  their  Governor  and 
several  of  the  members  of  his  Cabinet  arraigned  as  criminals 
at  the  bar  of  the  Court,  and  though  no  actual  punishment 
was  inflieted  upon  them,  no  order  was  ever  made  relieving 
them  of  the  charge  of  contempt. 

After  these  conveyances  had  been  declared  void  and  the  re- 
conveyance of  the  lands  had  been  enforced  by  the  Court,  some 
of  the  parties  applied  to  have  restored  to  them  coupons  of  the 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  FLOEIDA.  153 

Internal  Improvement  bonds  which  had  been  accepted  as 
money  in  their  attempted  purchase.  The  application  was 
finally  considered  after  the  Democrats  had  come  into  power, 
and  the  new  trustees  resisted  the  motion  to  restore  the  coupons 
and  demonstrated  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Court  that  many 
of  tliem  had  been  paid  and  cancelled  before  they  had  been  thus 
used  as  purchase  money,  and  by  some  crooked  and  dishonest 
course  had  passed  from  the  custody  of  the  state  officials  and 
had  again  been  received  when  their  true  status  must  have 
been  known  and  should  have  been  a  matter  of  record.  The 
Court  very  properly  denied  the  motion  to  restore  the 
coupons.* 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  regular  session  of  1870,  a 
paper  purporting  to  be  an  Act  of  the  Legislature,  signed  by 
the  Governor,  the  President  of  the  Senate  and  the  Speaker  of 
the  Assembly,  was  found  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of 
State  with  the  acts  that  had  reached  tliere  in  due  course  of 
leo;islation.  It  was  entitled  "An  act  to  authorize  the  Gov- 
ernor  to  ask  for  and  receive  the  Agricultural  Land  Scrip 
from  the  United  States.'' 

It  was  a  forgery.  No  such  act  had  been  passed.  No  bill 
of  this  title  had  been  introduced,  though  one  having  a  similar 
purpose  had  been  before  the  Legislature,  but  fiiiled  to  become 
a  law.  The  Trustees  of  the  Agricultural  College,  which  was 
established  at  the  same  session,  to  secure  the  benefit  of  the 
wise  educational  provision  made  by  the  Congress,  were  vested 
with  power  to  control  this  scrip,  and  it  was  transferred  and 
assigned  to  them  and  their  successors  as  a  basis  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  college.  The  effi^rt  to  divert  it  to  the  Governor's 
possession  was  probably  suggested  by  the  desperate  financial 
condition  of  the  state. 

C.  T.  Chase  was  the  State  "Superintendent  of  Public  In- 

*  The  reader  is  referred  to  the  records  of  the  cases  cited  in  the  note 
which  went  to  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  for  a  fuller  state- 
ment of  the  facts  relating  to  the  injunction  and  receivership.  ♦ 

Trustees  vs.  Greenough,  105  U.  S.,  527. 

Union  Trust  Co.,  vs.  Southern.      1    tt  g  a        r-t  iVr.  iqi 
Inland  N.  and  I.  Co., and  Trus-    [    ^- ^- ^"P-  ^t-  ^^t^^ti' 
tees  of  I.  I.  Fund.  J        ^^^^^^^  ^^''^'  ^^^^- 


I 


154  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

striiction.  He  went  to  Washington  and  called  on  Secretary 
Cox  to  arrange  for  receiving  the  scrip,  as  one  of  the  Trustees 
of  the  Agricultural  College.  He  found  that  the  Governor 
had  already  claimed  it  under  the  forged  statute.  The  matter 
was  considered  and  deliberated  and  at  last  came  before  the 
President  and  his  Cabinet.  The  following  extract  from  one 
of  Mr.  Chase's  letters  will  show  the  impression  made  upon 
them  by  this  unparalleled  proceeding. 

"  On  my  return  from  New  York,  the  Secretary  informed 
me  that  he  had  been  favored  with  several  interviews  with  His 
Excellency,  Governor  Reed,  and  a  written  communication 
about  the  Land  Scrip,  that  he,  the  Secretary,  had  brought  the 
matter  up  before  the  Cabinet,  and  that  General  Grant  and 
Attorney-General  Hoar,  with  others  participated  in  the  dis- 
cussion, and  that  the  final  conclusion  arrived  at  was,  that  the 
scrip  should  not  be  issued  under  that  claim,  but  that  one  point 
remained  undecided,  to  wit :  '  Whether  the  Secretary,  being  an 
executive  officer  of  the  United  States,  could  go  back  of  the  cer- 
tificate of  the  Secretary  of  State  under  seal  of  state  and  inquire 
into  the  validity  of  a  law.'  At  a  subsequent  interview,  the  Sec- 
retary informed  me  that  Attorney-General  Hoar  had  decided 
that  question  in  the  negative,  therefore,  if  he  took  any  action 
in  the  matter,  he  should  be  obliged  to  recognize  the  document. 
Yet  in  his  own  mind,  he  was  morally  certain,  from  all  that 
he  had  learned,  that  it  was  not  a  law,  and  that  if  it  were, 
he  should  still  feel  that  it  was  wrong  for  him  to  issue  the 
scrip  to  the  Governor  to  be  used  in  the  manner  which  the 
Executive  informed  him  he  purposed  to  use  it;  that  was 
in  connection  with  the  general  finances  of  the  state,  and  that 
he  had,  or  should,  so  inform  His  Excellency."* 

The  Governor  foiled  in  his  efforts  to  get  the  scrip,  came 
home  to  call  the  Legislature  in'extraordinary  session,  so  that 
some  further  scheme  might  be  devised  for  keeping  the  wheels 
of  government  in  motion.  The  friends  of  the  college,  how- 
ever, rallied  and  prevented  him  from  getting  authority  to  use 
tliese  educational  funds  for  ordinary  state  purposes. 

Much  interest  was  felt  in  the  approaching  election  for  a 

*  Senate  Journal,  Extra  Session  1876,  page  62. 


RECONSTEUCTION  IX  FLORIDA.  155 

Representative  in  Congress  and  a  Lieutenant-Governor  to  fill 
the  vacancy  caused  by  the  ouster  of  Gleason,  which  had  been 
temporarily  filled  by  the  appointment  of  Edmund  C.  Weeks 
by  the  Governor.  Samuel  T.  Day  for  Lieutenant-Governor 
and  Josiah  T.  Walls  for  E-epresentative,  were  the  Republican 
candidates.  The  Democrats  nominated  William  D.  JBloxhara 
for  Lieutenant-Governor  and  Silas  L.  Niblack  for  Represen- 
tative in  Congress.  Niblack  was  elected  by  a  majority  of 
22S,  and  Bloxham  by  a  majority  of  64.  But  the  work  of 
the  people  had  to  undergo  the  manipulation  of  a  counting 
board.  The  returns  from  nine  counties,  eight  of  them  Dem- 
ocratic, were  held  back  and  did  not  reach  the  State  Capitol, 
officially,  till  the  result  was  announced  and  the  defeated  Re- 
publicans had  received  certificates  of  election. 

Bloxham  challenged  Day's  title  in  the  courts  and  finally 
gained  his  office  by  the  judgment  of  the  Justices,  the  majority 
of  them  being  of  Republican  antecedents. 

Niblack  contested  Wall's  seat  and  the  records  of  the  Forty- 
second  Congress  will  show  that  he  was  declared  elected  and 
was  seated.  But  the  Republican  majority  delayed  their  just 
action  until  the  closing  days  of  the  last  session. 

The  most  shameful  part  of  this  affiiir  was  the  arrest  and 
prosecution  of  P.  W.  White,  Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court,  in 
the  circuit  in  which  the  state  capital  was  included,  who,  upoa 
complaint  of  Bloxham,  had  issued  an  injunction  to  restrain 
the  counting  of  the  vote  until  all  the  returns  had  been 
received.  It  was  charged  that  his  official  act  was  a  violation 
of  the  Federal  election  laws  and  the  machinery  of  the  United 
States  Court  was  corruptly  and  wickedly  used  to  hinder  the 
due  course  of  justice  and  facilitate  the  effi>rts  of  the  conspira- 
tors. After  their  purpose  had  been  accomplished  the  prose- 
cution of  Judge  White  was  not  further  pressed. 

The  fourth  regular  session  of  the  Legislature  was  famous 
for  the  contests  for  seats  and  the  unblushino;  disreoi;ard  of  the 
will  of  the  people  by  the  Republicans.  The  Democrats  had 
elected  a  majority  of  the  Senators  but  the  election  machinery 
was  supervised  by  a  returning  board  whose  majority  was 
Republican  and  the  usurper,  Day,  was  the  presiding  officer. 

Two   regularly   elected   Democrats,  Sutton  and  ^laloney, 


156  WHY  THE  SOUpD  SOUTH? 

were  denied  their  seats.  A  third,  Ross,  was  seated  upon  liis 
certificate,  but  was  afterwards  ousted  on  a  contest,  by  exchid- 
ing  from  the  count  a  Democratic  precinct,  upon  the  groiuid 
that  the  clerk  was  ?  non-resident,  aUhough  he  was  a  duly 
registered  voter.  The  contestant  iu  this  case,  Johnson,  was 
seated  when  only  half  of  the  Senators  were  present,  as  shown 
by  the  yea  and  nay  vote  on  the  question  of  adojiting  the 
committee's  report  on  the  subject,  although  the  Supreme  Court 
had,  but  a  short  time  before  decided,  that  a  majority  of  the 
full  number  of  Senators,  authorized  by  the  Constitution,  alone 
constituted  a  quorum,  and  that  a  less  number  could  only 
enforce  the  attendance  of  absentees  or  adjourn. 

Two  Republicans  claimed  the  right  to  represent  the  Duval 
County  District.  W.  PI.  Christy  had  the  certificate  and  was 
seated,  but  was  ousted  by  Horatio  Jenkins,  Jr.,  on  the  fourth 
day  of  the  session.  Christy  had  been  supported  by  one  wing 
of  the  Republicans  aided  by  Democrats  who  believed  him  to 
be  a  more  conservative  man  than  his  opponent.  Jenkins  was 
seated  by  accepting  the  results  of  the  famous  Yellow  Bluff 
fraud. 

A  forged  return  which  added  two  hundred  and  fourteen  to 
Jenkins'  vote  was  substituted  in  place  of  the  true  return,  on 
the  way  from  the  voting-precinct  to  the  Court  House.  With- 
out this  fraudulent  addition  Jenkins  was  defeated.  The  in- 
spectors appeared  before  the  county  canvassers  and  pronounced 
the  signatures  to  this  return  to  be  forgeries,  and  it  was  re- 
jected. The  guilty  tool  who  committed  this  crime  was  tried  and 
convicted,  though  the  State  Senate,  with  all  the  facts  before 
it,  had  wilfully  accepted  the  forgery  and  cast  aside  the  honest 
return.     The  same  spirit  was  exhibited  in  the  lower  House. 

After  Gleason  had  been  driven  from  the  office  of  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor, he  desired  to  continue  his  personal  influence 
in  the  Legislature,  where  he  had  inaugurated  many  ''•  im- 
provement "  schemes  while  presiding  over  the  Senate.  He 
claimed  a  home  in  the  remote  county  of  Dade,  wdiere  he  and 
his  friends  held  all  the  county  offices.  At  the  election  W.  H. 
Benest  was  regularly  elected  to  the  Assembly.  No  one  at 
home  denied  his  right  to  the  seat.  He  was  delayed  on  his 
journey  and  reached  Tallahassee  a  day  or  two  after  the  Legis- 


KECOXSTRUCTION  IN  FLORIDA.  I57 

latnre  had  met,  and  to  his  surprise  found  Gleason  recognized 
as  the  member  from  Dade,  and  serving  as  chairman  of  the 
two  most  important  committees,  on  the  Judiciary  and  on 
Finance  and  Taxation,  besides  having  a  membership  in  others 
of  nearly  equal  importance.  Gleason  was  not  in  the  state  on 
the  day  of  the  election,  and  was  not  then  a  candidate  for  the 
position.  On  coming  to  his  county  afterwards  he  pretended 
to  call  a  special  election,  io^noring  that  already  held.  The 
Governor  alone  had  this  power  under  the  law.  Those  in  the 
secret  went  through  the  sham  of  an  election,  and  with  a  cer- 
tificate of  the  result  he  presented  himself  on  the  first  day  of 
the  session,  and  was  admitted  on  this  piece  of  paper,  worth- 
less upon  its  face,  and  held  his  seat  until  the  final  adjourn- 
ment. Benest  was  vigilant  in  pressing  his  rights,  but  could 
not  even  get  a  report  from  the  Committee  on  Elections  till 
the  very  last  day  of  the  session.* 

At  the  regular  session  of  1872  the  Comptroller  reported  a 
most  discouraging  condition  of  the  state  finances.  The  war- 
rants issued  for  the  past  year  were  $135,486  in  excess  of  the 
receipts.  The  rate  of  state  taxation,  which  had  been  16f 
cents  on  the  hundred  dollars  in  1861,  and  50  cents  in  1867, 
had  been  increased  to  $1.37.t  The  bonded  indebtedness  of  the 
state  was  increased  from  §466,364.63  in  1868,  when  Reed 
became  Governor,  to  $1,269,973.33,  besides  the  railroad  issue 
of  four  millions  which  had  not  yet  been  declared  illegal.  The 
outstanding  warrants  and  certificates  had,  in  the  same  period, 
increased  from  $57,492.32  to  $458,8*92.20. 

The  burden  of  taxation  was  made  heavier  by  a  system  of 
equalization  of  valuation.  The  Comptroller  thus,  speaks  of 
the  high  rate  of  taxation  and  of  this  system :  ^' We  have 
resorted  to  a  rate  of  taxation  under  which  the  people  suffer 
and  every  branch  of  industry  is  crippled.^'  ''And  w4ien  it  is  a 
fact  that  the  property  paying  these  taxes  is  not  valued  by  its 
owners,  but  byiin  entirely  impracticable  system,  and  an  en- 
tirely incompetent  body,  both  in  state  and  counties,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  its  owners   should  be  dissatisfied."      "The 

*  Assembly  Journal,  5th  Session,  1872.     Appendix,  pages  1-6. 
fThis  was  in  addition  to  the  county  tax  which  in  many  counties  was 
larger  than  the  State  tax. 


158  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

average  value  of  property,  both  real  and  personal,  has  de- 
creased since  1870,  yet  the  aggregate  value  for  the  basis  of 
taxation  is  increased  $49,737.31/' 

The  Governor  complains  in  his  message  that  more  than 
two-thirds  of  the  bonds  issued  in  aid  of  Littlefield's  road  had 
been  wasted  without  making  any  real  progress  in  the  work. 
He  says  :  ''  It  appears  that  the  bonds  were  entrusted  by  the 
company  to  one  of  the  firms  of  swindlers  who  abound  in 
New  York,  which,  by  fraud  and  villany,  have  diverted  much 
of  the  proceeds  from  the  work  on  which  they  were  issued, 
and  there  remains  but  $1,200,000  for  the  purpose  of  extend- 
ing the  road  beyond  the  river."*  And  he  might  have  truth- 
fully added  that  none  of  it  was  expended  in  road-building  or 
improvement  on  this  side  of  the  riv^er. 

The  impeachment  proceedings  were  renewed  and  reached 
their  culminating  ])oint  at  this  session  in  the  exhibition  of 
twelve  articles,  and  a  few  days  later  four  additional  ones, 
charging  the  Governor,  among  other  things,  with  conspiring 
with  Littlefield  and  others  to  embezzle  moneys  belonging  to 
the  state,  accepting  bribes,  defrauding  the  state,  and  falsifying 
his  own  official  acts.  By  a  unanimous  vote  the  Assembly 
adopted  the  articles,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  im- 
peach him,  before  the  Imr  of  the  Senate  of  high  crimes  and 
misdemeanors,  incompetency,  malfeasance  in  office  and  conduct 
detrimental  to  good  morals.  His  suspension  from  office  fol- 
lowed. Prominent  among  the  members  of  the  committee  which 
preferred  these  charges  was  a  citizen  of  African  descent  named 
John  Wallace,  who  was  afterwards  in  the  State  Senate,  and  has 
since  published  a  work  on  '^Carpet-bag  Rule  in  Florida,"  in 
which  Reed  is  represented  as  carrying  on  a  constant  struggle 
for  the  right  against  the  corrupt  men  who  at  this  period  con- 
trolled and  dictated  the  policy  of  the  Republican  party. 

The  Legislature  adjourned  without  trying  the  impeachment 
case,  leaving  the  reins  of  government  in  Day's  hands,  who 
had  been  counted  in  as  Lieutenant-Governor,  to  the  exclusion 
of  Bloxham.  This  situation  was  satisfactory  to  Reed's  ene- 
mies, for  a  state  election  was  approaching,  and  the  control  of 
the  official  patronage  would  have  enabled  them  to  dictate  the 

*  Assembly  Journal,  1872,  p.  35. 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  FLORIDA.  I59 

state  and  Congressional  nominations  and  the  l^ational  offices 
for  the  ensuing  four  years.  But  there  was  an  obstacle  in  the 
way.  Bloxham's  just  claim  to  the  office  of  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor was  being  vigorously  pushed  and  the  final  decision  of 
the  Supreme  Court  could  not  be  much  longer  delayed.  His 
counsel  had  first  proceeded  by  mandamus  to  compel  a  correct 
canvass  of  the  votes,  but,  when  on  the  threshold  of  victory, 
the  law  under  which  the  canvass  should  have  been  made  was 
surreptitiously  repealed.  The  Court,  though  clearly  stating 
Bloxham's  right,  would  not  direct  the  Board  to  proceed  under 
a  law  which  no  longer  existed.  The  new  action  which  had 
been  immediately  commenced  Avas  soon  to  be  decided,  and  the 
result  must  give  the  state  a  Democratic  Governor  unless  the 
impeachment  could  be  dismissed.  Terms  were  made  with 
Reed.  Day  called  an  extra  session  of  the  Legislature  to  meet 
April  23d,  1872.  On  the  fourth  of  May  it  was  decided  that 
the  continuance  of  the  impeachment  case  without  trial  to 
another  session  was  in  effect  a  discharge  and  acquittal  of  the 
Governor,  and  he  was  restored  to  his  office,  but  he  was  never 
relieved  of  the  opprobrium  of  the  impeachment  charges. 

The  expected  judgment  in  Bloxham's  favor  was  rendered 
June  1st,  and  for  seven  months,  after  all  the  duties  of  his 
office  had  terminated,  he  enjoyed  the  barren  title  of  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor. 

The  nominating  conventions  met  during  the  summer. 
Bloxham  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Governor  and 
General  Robert  Bullock,  now  a  member  of  the  51st  Congress, 
was  nominated  for  Lieutenant-Governor.  The  new  apportion- 
ment gave  Florida  an  additional  Representative  in  Congress 
and  the  nominees  were  Charles  W.  Jones,  who  afterwards 
represented  Florida  in  the  Senate,  and  Silas  L.  Niblack,  who 
was  still  engaged  in  his  contest  in  the  42d  Congress. 

Owing  to  the  strife  in  the  carpet-bag  element  of  the 
Republican  party,  it  was  deemed  prudent  to  select  a 
candidate  for  Governor  from  among  the  Southern  white 
membership,  and  Justice  O.  B.  Hart  was  selected.  The 
carpet-baggers  were  represented  by  M.  L.  Stearns,  who  had 
been  speaker  of  the  Assembly,  who  held  the  second  place  on 
the  ticket,  and  by  W.  J.  Purman,  who  was  a  candidate  for 


160  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Representative  in  Congress.  The  froedmcn  received  recog- 
nition by  the  nomination  of  J.  T.  Walls  as  the  other  can- 
didate for  Representative.  Reed  was  appeased  by  a  vote 
endorsing  his  administration  and  a  hollow  promise  of  the 
succession  to  Osborn's  seat  in  the  Senate. 

The  Democratic  victory  of  1870  and  the  character  of  the 
immigration  which  had  since  flowed  into  the  state  made  it 
manifest  that  unless  some  extraordinary  means  were  used 
Bloxham  and  Bullock  would  lead  their  i)arty  to  victory. 

The  Republican  gain  over  the  Democrats  was  in  the 
counties  having  a  large  negro  population.  In  two  of  these, 
Leon  and  Jefferson,  where  there  had  been  no  increase  of 
population  by  immigration  the  Rejiublican  vote  was  increased 
from  2,824  to  4,566  while  the  Democratic  vote  was  only 
increased  from  1,202  to  1,379.  This  remarkable  gain'was 
enough  to  give  Hart  the  majority  declared  in  his  favor  of 
1,553.  There  was  a  like  increase  in  other  countities  of  the 
black-belt  sufficient  to  offset  the  entire  increase  in  the  Demo- 
cratic vote. 

As  the  whole  machinery  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Republi- 
can office-holders,  inspectors  and  clerks,  it  was  easy  to  arrange 
for  such  a  result.  The  same  voting  lists  were  at  every  pre- 
cinct in  the  county;  the  precincts  were  conveniently  arranged 
near  the  centres  of  the  black  population  ;  there  was  no  obstacle 
in  the  way  of  voting  at  every  precinct  within  reach,  even  in 
the  same  name ;  there  were  plenty  of  duplicate  names  on  the 
lists;  and  a  few  skilled  manipulators  had  no  difficulty  in 
managing  an  army  of  docile  and  obedient  voters  so  as  to  pro- 
duce the  result  determined  upon  before  the  election. 

The  Republican  ticket  was  declared  elected,  and  Governor 
Hart  was  inauo-nrated  in  1873. 

His  first  message  showed  that  he  fully  realized  the  deplor- 
able condition  of  the  state.  Outstanding  warrants  for  cur- 
rent expenses  were  fearfully  increasing  at  double  rates.  There 
was  no  money  in  the  State  Treasury  even  to  pay  express 
charges  or  telegraph  fees.  Back  taxes  to  the  amount  of 
$598,000,  had  failed  to  reach  the  treasury,  and  he  urged  that 
assessors  and  collectors  be  compelled  to  do  their  duty.  He 
uses  these  words  :  ''  I  doubt  if  there  is  another  state  in  which 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  FLORIDA,  161 

SO  great  a  proportion  of  the  revenue  is  withheld  from  the 
treasury  after  it  has  been  paid  to  the  proper  officers  by  the 
tax-payers."  * 

He  charges  revenue  officers  with  substituting  depreciated 
scrip  for  moneys  collected  from  the  people,  and  falsely  swear- 
ing that  these  identical  warrants  were  actually  received,  ^^  thus 
setting  at  defiance  the  criminal  code,  cheating  and  thieving 
the  public  for  the  purpose  of  pocketing  the  difference,  and 
adding  perjury  to  fraud  without  fear  of  punishment."  f 

With  reference  to  the  bribery,  which  was  notorious  and 
which  had  been  forced  upon  his  attention  while  a  member  of 
the  Supreme  Court  by  the  Pearce  Appeal,  he  says :  ^'  If  our 
officers  and  Legislators  are  not  beyond  the  reach  of  those 
who  would  tempt  them  from  their  duty,  then  indeed  have  the 
temples  of  law  and  justice  become  the  dens  of  thieves,"  % 

He  speaks  thus  of  the  frequent  election  frauds  :  "  It  has 
come  to  be  regarded  as  a  matter  of  grave  concern,  whether 
the  choice  of  officers  depends  upon  the  voice  of  a  majority  of 
the  people  of  the  state  or  counties,  or  whether  it  depends 
upon  the  skill  of  a  board  of  canvassers  in  receiving  or  re- 
jecting, upon  petty  and  technical  grounds  the  evidence  of  the 
result."  § 

In  conclusion  he  calls  upon  them .  to  endeavor  to  lift  the 
state  "  out  of  the  slough  of  insolvency  into  which  she  has 
fallen,  not  through  any  lack  of  resources,  or  fault  of  her  own, 
but  through  the  criminal  neglect  and  malfeasance  of  those  to 
whom  she  had  entrusted  the  duty  of  receiving  from  her  people 
the  means  of  support  which  they,  the  people,  are  ever  ready 
to  afford  her."    |i 

The  sequel  demonstrates  that  Hart,  with  all  the  good  in- 
tentions which  })ermeate  this  message,  was  powerless  to  effect 
a  reform  under  the  circumstances  which  surrounded  him.  He 
had  reached  his  high  office  by  the  votes  and  methods  of  the 
men  whose  crimes  he  was  condemning.  The  bankruptcy  of 
the  state,  the  incompetency  and  malfeasance  of  her  Republi- 
can officials,  had  not  weakened  the  party  under  whose  admin- 
istration this  state  of  things  had  become  possible.    The  hand- 

*  Assembly  Journal,  6th  Session,  1873,  pp.  33-41. 
tDo.  p.  41,  ip.  44.  I  Do.  p.  44.        ||  Do.  p.  47 

11 


IQ2  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

ful  of  white  leaders  had  no  difficulty  in  controlling  its  vast 
negro  majority,  and  their  inexperience  in  governmental  matters, 
the  dense  ignorance  and  stupidity  of  the  large  mass  of  them, 
their  deficient  sense  of  honor  and  integrity,  their  faihu'e  to 
appreciate  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  their  new  citizen- 
ship, made  their  numerical  strength  a  constant  menace  to  good 
government,  as  long  as  they  were  under  the  control  of  politi- 
cal leaders,  whose  misgovernment  had  called  forth  these 
severe  rebukes  from  one  whom  they  had  so  recently  elevated 
to  the  Gubernatorial  office. 

Wallace  in  his  work  on  *^ Carpet-bag  Rule"  gives  an  in- 
teresting account  of  this  session.  To  use  his  own  language  : 
"  This  was  a  gala  day  for  the  colored  brother."  S.  B.  Conover 
became  Speaker  of  the  Assembly,  and  during  the  session  was 
chosen  to  succed  Osborn  in  the  Senate.  Wallace  says  that 
money  was  freely  used  in  this  contest  but  that  the  Republican 
rivals  of  Conover  had  the  largest  supply.  He  was  among  the 
tempted  but  when  offi^red  money  as  an  inducement  to  stand 
firm  in  the  Conover  ranks  he  virtuously  promised  to  do  so  with- 
out money  and  advised  the  tem]:>ter  to  "buy  those  who  desired 
to  sell"  and  the  briber  "went  flying  to  other  parts  of  the  bat- 
tle-field to  use  the  money  where  it  would  do  the  most  good/' 

This  work  shoufd  be  read  by  all  who  seek  to  know  the  inside 
history  of  this  corrupt  period.  Many  of  its  details  are  inac- 
curate and  there  are  manifest  errors  and  mistakes  of  fact  when 
the  author  gets  beyond  his  personal  experience,  but  within 
that  range  there  is  no  reason  for  doubting  his  disclosure  of 
plots,  intrigue  and  villany.  It  would  require  the  exj)eri- 
ence  in  crime  of  a  Titus  Gates  or  the  imairination  of  a  Munch- 
ausen,  to  invent  all  the  details  of  this  history. 

Gne  of  the  election  contests  of  this  session  justifies  the 
severe  language  already  quoted  from  the  Governor's  message. 
Dade  county  occupies  the  extreme  south-eastern  part  of  the 
Florida  peninsula.  In  territorial  extent  it  contains  more 
than  seven  thousand  square  miles,  but  according  to  the  previ- 
ous census  of  1870,  the  population  was  only  85.  Yet  it  was 
entitled  to  a  member  of  the  Assembly,  and  with  the  adjoin- 
ing county  of  Brevard,  with  a  population  of  1216,  formed  a 
Senatorial  District. 


EECONSTRUCTIOX  I.^  FLORIDA.  163 

It  was  in  counties  like  these,  thinly  populated  and  remote 
from  communication,  that  the  Republican  workers  plied  tlieir 
schemes  to  control  the  Legislature.  Only  about  nine  of  the 
thirty-nine  were  safely  Republican  after  the  disabilities  result- 
ing from  the  war  had  been  removed.  Enouo;h  of  the  others 
to  make  the  desired  majority  were  managed  or  manipulated 
by  some  sharp  or  crooked  device  on  the  day  of  election,  or 
treated  by  the  counting  out  process  applied  later. 

The  Benest  contest  came  from  this  same  county  of  Dade. 

November  5th,  1872,  E.  T.  Sturtevant  was  Judge  of  the 
County  Court.  Gleason,  who  had  occupied  Benest's  seat,  was 
now  Clerk  of  the  Circuit  and  County  Courts ;  together  they 
composed  a  majority  of  the  Board  of  County  Canvassers 
and,  in  the  absence  of  the  third  member,  the  entire  Board. 

Only  one  precinct  was  opened  in  the  county  on  the  day  of 
election.  At  that  Sturtevant  was  one  of  the  inspectors,  and 
Gleason  was  clerk.  Both  were  candidates  at  the  election,  the 
former  for  the  Senate,  the  latter  for  the  Assembly,  against 
J.  J.  Brown,  the  Democratic  candidate.  When  the  election 
closed  it  was  regularly  announced,  in  the  presence  of  the 
voters,  that  the  majority  of  the  votes  had  been  cast  against 
Sturtevant  and  Gleason,  who  had  each  received  fourteen 
votes,  and  this  result  was  duly  certified,  and  the  two  defeated 
candidates  signed  the  required  certificates,  acting  under  oath 
as  election  officers. 

Before  the  meeting  of  the  County  Board,  the  defeated  candi- 
dates prepared  a  petition  to  themselves  as  a  County  Board,  alleg- 
ino^  that  certain  foreigners  had  voted  without  producing  their 
na^uj-alization  papers.  These  were  old  citizens  of  the  county 
who  had  frequently  voted  before,  and  no  one  at  this  election 
had  challenged  their  right  to  vote,  or  asked  for  their  papers. 

The  Board  acted  on  this  petition  and  deducted  the  number 
of  votes  cast  by  these  citizens  from  the  votes  of  their  success- 
ful opponents  without  taking  evidence  as  to  how  they  voted, 
thus  reversing  the  result,  and  as  County  Canvassers  certified 
this  false  result  in  their  own  behalf  to  the  State  Capitol. 

Israel  M.  Stewart,  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Senator, 
who  was  thus  robbed  of  his  majority  in  Dade,  received  in  his 
own  county  of  Brevard  39  out  of  the  G9  votes,  but  none  was 


164  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

cast  there  for  Sturtevant.  In  order  to  complete  this  outrage, 
the  Brevard  returns  were  held  back  by  the  Republican  officers 
of  election,  or  detained  by  the  United  States  mail  agents  till 
the  State  Canvassers  had  met  and  announced  the  election  of 
Sturtevant  and  Gleason,  and  they  were  accordingly  seated, 
upon  their  minority  vote  of  14  from  a  single  precinct  in  Dade. 

The  majority  of  the  Committee  on  Elections  of  the  Assembly 
simply  reported  that  "  we  are  of  the  opinion  that  William  11. 
Gleason  is  entitled  to  his  seat.''  They  denied  none  of  the 
conclusions  of  fact  reached  by  the  minority.  Their  report 
was  adopted  and  Gleason  retained  the  seat  against  Brown. 

There  was  no  final  determination  of  Stewart's  contest 
against  Sturtevant  during  the  first  session  of  the  Senate.  The 
term  was  for  four  years,  and  it  was  renewed  at  the  second  ses- 
sion two  years  later,  but  without  effect. 

Wallace  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Elections  which 
reported  in  favor  of  Gleason,  and  was  in  the  Senate  at  the  next 
term,  where  he  supported  Sturtevant  wlienever  action  was  at- 
tempted in  Stewart's  favor.  In  his  book  he  mentions  his 
vote  in  Sturtevant's  behalf  as  one  of  the  only  two  acts  com- 
mitted during  these  days  of  reconstruction  which  he  regrets. 

Governor  Hart  was  in  feeble  health  when  he  commenced 
his  term  and  went  to  a  more  Northern  clime  after  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  Legislature.  In  his  second  Message  he  spoke  of 
the  state  finances  in  rather  a  more  encouraging  tone,  but  there 
was  little  actual  improvement,  and  his  hopes  for  the  future 
were  not  realized  under  his  successor,  nor  would  they  have 
been  had  he  lived,  for  the  personal  integrity  of  one  man  could 
not  check  the  prevailing  tide  of  extravagance  and  corruption. 
He  died  soon  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Legislature  of 
1874,  enjoying  the  respect  of  all  who  knew  him,  and  amid 
general  expressions  of  regret. 

The  new  Governor,  Marcel  1  us  L.  Stearns,  had  been  promi- 
nent among  the  extreme  men  of  his  party  all  through  this 
reconstruction  period.  He  w^ent  to  Florida  as  an  officer 
of  the  Freed  men's  Bureau,  and  this  position  had  given  him 
influence  with  this  class  of  voters.  His  administration  was 
but  little  more  than  a  continuance  of  those  which  preceded 
it.     His  personal  integrity  was  assailed  even  more  bitterly 


EECONSTEUCTION  IN  FLOEIDA.  165 

than  that  of  ReecVs.  Purman  was  high  in  the  counsels  of 
his  party,  and  had  abundant  opportunity  to  know  what  his 
associates  had  done.  He  delivered  a  speech  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  March  9th,  1875,  in  which  he  assailed 
Stearns  bitterly  and  brought  some  serious  charges  against 
him.  But  these  accusations  injured  neither  with  his  party 
friends.  The  Republican  Convention  of  1876  nominated 
Stearns  for  Governor  and  Purman  for  reelecticm  to  the  Na- 
tional House  of  Representatives,  and  they  went  lovingly 
through  the  campaign  on  the  same  ticket,  notwithstanding 
the  wickedness  or  the  slanders  of  the  past. 

Before  this  history  closes  some  further  mention  should  be 
made  of  the  abuse  of  the  process  of  the  United  States  Courts 
to  aid  the  plans  of  the  Republican  leaders.  I  shall  relate  but 
two  instances. 

At  a  municipal  election  held  in  Tallahassee,  during  this 
period,  a  number  of  influential  Democratic  voters  were  absent. 
The  election  was  close.  The  absence  of  these  voters  was  pro- 
cured by  summoning  them  to  appear  on  the  morning  of  the 
election  as  witnesses  before  the  United  States  Court  at  Jack- 
sonville, more  than  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  distant. 
They  were  not  used  or  needed  as  witnesses  but  were  detained 
till  the  election  was  over  and  the  Republican  ticket  elected, 
and  then  dismissed. 

The  State  Senate  was,  on  one  occasion,  organized  in  a  sim- 
ilar way.  It  was  nearly  evenly  divided  ;  there  were  several 
contested  seats.  On  the  morning  of  the  day  fixed  for  the 
meeting  of  the  Legislature,  Senators  Crawford  and  McCaskill 
were  arrested  on  fictitious  charges  and  carried  to  Jacksonville 
by  a  Deputy  United  States  Marshal.  They  were  held  there 
upon  the  warrants  of  arrest  till  the  Republicans  had  completed 
their  plans  and  organized  the  Senate,  and  were  then  discharged. 

The  closing  months  of  Stearns'  administration  will  ever  be 
memorable,  on  account  of  the  great  election  contest  of  1876, 
which  was  felt  throughout  the  whole  country.  The  author 
has  already  given  an  account  of  it  in  a  speech  delivered  in 
the  United  States  Senate  during  the  Fiftieth  Congress. 
Stearns  headed  the  Republican  ticket  and  George  F.  Drew 
was  the  successful  Democratic  candidate. 


]  QQ  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

The  Democratic  State  Committee  could  not  prevent  the 
action  of  the  Electoral  Commission,  but  when  their  state 
ticket  was  counted  out,  they  forced  the  Canvassing  Board, 
through  the  process  of  the  State  Supreme  Court,  to  make  an 
honest  count.  It  is  pleasant  to  be  able  to  add  that  a  majority 
of  the  justices  who  rendered  the  judgment  against  this  Boai'd 
were  Republicans  in  their  political  faith,  but  they  adminis- 
tered the  laws  without  reference  to  politics.  The  inaugura- 
tion of  Drew  as  Governor  and  Noble  A.  Hull  as  Lieutenant- 
Governor  and  the  organization  of  a  Democratic  Legislature 
followed  and  the  state  was  redeemed. 

Reviewing  the  history  of  this  period  from  1868  to  1876, 
we  find  a  record  of  extravagance,  corruption  and  wasteful  ex- 
penditure. The  enormous  amounts  taken  from  the  tax-payers 
and  raised  by  mortgaging  the  industry  of  the  future  were  all 
consumed  with  nothing  to  show  for  the  outlay.  No  ])ublic 
buildings,  no  institutions  for  the  unfortunate,  no  colleges, 
normal  schools,  or  seminaries  were  built  or  aided  from  the 
state  treasury  during  this  period.  The  school  system,  though 
liberally  supported  by  taxation,  had  disappointed  the  reason- 
able expectations  of  the  people.  Crime  had  gone  unpunished. 
Property  was  unsafe.  Farmers  almost  abandoned  the  effort 
to  raise  meat  because  of  the  constant  depredations  upon  their 
stock.  Many  of  the  magistrates  were  incompetent,  some  were 
notoriously  corrupt,  and  thieves  and  depredators  w^ere  not 
seriously  alarmed  at  the  ])rospect  of  a  conviction  before  a 
negro  jury.  The  effect  is  illustrated  by  the  following  table 
which  gives  the  valuation  of  personal  property  at  different 
dates,  in  sev^en  of  the  large  agricultural  counties,  compris- 
ing some  of  the  wealthiest  portions  of  the  state  at  those 
times. 

VALUATION   OF  PERSONAL  PROPERTY. 

Counties.            1867.  1870.  1873.  1875. 

Alachua,  .  |  750,944  $542,874  $871,422  $348,349 

Gadsden,  .   83^,666  493,848  392,865  338,760 

Jackson,  .  .  667,371  544,940  495,400  415,970 

Jefferson,  .  816,858  753,302  506,325  415,512 

Leon,  .  .  .  1260,820  945,623  903,088  662,884 

Madison,  .   493,195  446,256  372,647  363,478 

Marion,  .  .   694,291  539,489  515,143  444,347 


5,519,145   4,266,132    3,556,890   2,989,300 


RECONSTEUCTION  IN  FLORIDA.  167 

This  amounts  to  a  net  reduction  of  over  45  per  cent,  in 
eight  years. 

The  receipts  and  expenditures  of  tlie  four  years  covered  by 
the  administrations  of  Hatt  and  Stearns  were  as  follows  : 

RECEIPTS  AND  EXPENDITURES   OF  THE  STATE   FROM  1873   TO   1876. 

Years.  Receipts.  Expenditures. 

1873 $564,405.81  $536,192.55 

1874 401,679.68  292,037.37 

1875 384,735.24  290,261.43 

1876 286,280.58  260,187.19 

Total $1,737,101.31        $1,378,978.54 

Showing  an  average  of  expenditures  of  $344,744  63  per 
annum  as  compared  with  the  average  of  $346,189.32  during 
four  years  of  Reed's  administration.  The  county  expendi- 
tures and  taxation  were  additional  to  those  of  the  state  enu- 
merated in  these  tables. 

This  sketch  will  be  closed  by  comparing  some  of  the  figures 
of  this  period  of  reconstruction  and  Republican  mis-govern- 
ment with  the  results  that  followed  as  soon  as  the  Democrats 
came  into  power  under  George  F.  Drew  and  continued  under 
successive  administrations. 

When  the  Republicans  went  out  of  power,  they  had  estab- 
lished in  nine  years  under  their  school  system  676  schools, 
attended  by  28,444  scholars.  The  amount  raised  for  schools 
by  taxation  and  their  management  of  the  state  school  fund 
during  their  last  year  of  power  was  $158,846,36. 

The  following  table  exhibits  the  subsequent  progress  of  the 
educational  interests  of  the  state. 


SCHOOL  STATISTICS  OF   THE  STATE  FOR  CERTAIN  YEARS. 

Years.                Schools.           Pupils.  Expended  for  Schools. 

1876 676            28,444  $158,846.36 

1880 1,131            38,315  141,934.16 

1883 1,479            51,945  249,054.08 

1888 2,219            63,848  484,110.23 

The  following  table  exhibits  the  taxes  assessed  during  the 


168 


WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 


last  three  years  of  Republican  rule,  and  the  three  succeeding 
years  of  a  Democratic  administration. 


Oovernor. 

Hart& 
Stearns 


Drew 


STATE  TAJSES  ASSESSED  FROM    1873  TO   1880 

Years.  Amounts.         Totals  for  3   Years. 

1873 $422,994.59 

1874 429,318.09 

1875 408,684.71 

1876 380,858.69  $1,641,856.08 

1877 330,595.60 

1878 265,240.98 

1879 249,879.80 

1880  ......  237,420.12 


Saved  in  4  years  under  Democratic  administration 
Average  per  year    ....•* 


1,083.136.50 
558,719.58 


139,679.89 


The  following  table  exhibits  the  steady  increase  in  the  tax- 
able property  of  the  state  since  the  last  year  of  the  Stearns' 
administration. 


VALUE  OF  THE  REAL   AND   PERSONAL   PROPERTY   IN   THE  STATE   OF 
FLORIDA   AS   ASSESSED   FOR   TAXATION    AT   DIFFERENT    DATES. 

Years.  Total   Amounts. 

1876 $29,688,337 

1880 31,157,846 

1883 55,249,311 

1888 87,552,447 

Samuel  Pasco. 


CHAPTER  yil. 

RECONSTRUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE. 

THE  Legislature  of  Tennessee  was  in  session  at  the  time  of 
the  Presidential  election  in  1860.  There  was  no  public 
man  in  her  borders  at  that  time  v/ho  was  either  an  avowed 
abolitionist  or  a  disunionist,  per  se.  The  successful  candidate 
for  the  Presidency  had  received  no  vote  in  Tennessee.  The  peo- 
ple were  apprehensive  of  the  grave  results  which  eventually 
followed  that  election  ;  but  they  determined  to  wait.  While 
other  states  south  were  passing  ordinances  of  secession  and 
appealing  to  Tennessee  to  join  them,  she  declined  hasty 
action.  As  late  as  February,  1861,  her  people  expressed 
their  desire  to  remain  in  the  Union  by  a  majority  of  67,054  in 
a  total  vote  of  116,552.  They  declared  at  the  same  time 
their  opposition  to  holding  a  delegated  convention  to  consider 
and  determine  what  should  be  done  in  the  impending  emer- 
gency, by  a  majority  of  11,875.  They  opposed  secession,  and 
equally  opposed  civil  war.  Had  no  gun  been  fired,  Ten- 
nessee would  not  have  changed  her  position. 

When,  however,  the  officer  in  command  of  Fort  Sumter 
in  Charleston  harbor  refused  to  recognize  the  Confederate 
authority,  and  President  Lincoln  ordered  supplies  to  him,  the 
approach  of  the  steamer  "  Star  of  the  West  '^  with  these  sup- 
plies drew  the  fire  of  Confederate  guns,  and  when  this  was 
quickly  followed  by  a  call  from  Mr.  Lincoln  upon  Tennessee 
for  volunteers  to  march  upon  the  South,  the  shock  came,  and 
was  electric.  In  less  than  sixty  days  the  people  of  the  state 
had  voted  to  separate  from  the  Union  and  to  become  a  member 
of  the  Confederate  States  by  a  vote  of  104,913  to  47,238. 

In  less  than  a  year,  March,  1862,  Andrew  Johnson  was 
transferred  from  the  United  States  Senate  (which  he  had  not 
before  left)  and  installed  as  Military  Governor  of  Tennessee  by 

169 


170  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

appointment  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  under  the  ])rotection 
of  the  Federal  Armies.  His  authority  as  defined  in  his 
appointment  was,  "-  to  exercise  and  perform  within  the  limits 
of  the  state,  all  and  singular,  the  powers,  duties  and  functions 
pertaining  to  the  office  of  Military  Governor,  including  the 
power  to  establish  all  necessary  offices,  tribunals,  etc." 

September  19th,  1863,  the  President  sent  him  a  supple- 
mentary authorization  "  to  exercise  such  powers  as  may  be 
necessary  and  proper  to  enable  the  loyal  people  of  Tennessee 
to  present  such  a  republican  form  of  State  (jovernmentas  will 
entitle  the  state  to  the  guarantee  of  the  United  States  there- 
for, and  to  be  protected  under  such  state  government  by  the 
United  States,  against  invasion  and  domestic  violence,  all 
according  to  the  Fourth  Article  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States." 

The  office  was  new  to  the  laws  and  history  of  the  state  and 
country.  Its  powers  and  duties  were  limited  only  by  the  will 
of  one  man,  the  occupant.  As  the  Federal  Armies  advanced 
southward,  Governor  Johnson  proceeded  to  make  appoint- 
ments, and  fill  vacancies  with  loyal  men.  The  vast  majority 
of  the  offices  were  vacated  upon  the  Federal  military  occupa- 
tion of  the  country.  In  truth  the  active  duties  and  func- 
tions of  the  civil  authorities  were  practically  suspended  in 
every  part  of  the  state  open  to  a  conflict  of  the  opposing 
forces,  and  these  parts  embraced  nearly  its  entire  extent. 

During  the  years  1862  and  1863  the  operations  of  the  con- 
tending armies  in  and  for  Tennessee  were  not  of  such  decisive 
character  as  to  give  permanent  foothold  to  either.  The  pro- 
gress made,  therefore,  by  the  Military  Governor  toward  re- 
storing civil  administration,  amounted  to  little.  Towards  the 
close  of  1863  the  Federal  forces  occupied  the  state  from  a 
line  forty  miles  east  of  Kuoxville  to  Mem])his,  with  strong 
garrisons  at  both  these  points  and  at  Nashville,  Chattanooga 
and  other  points.  Their  successes  elsewhere  during  the  sum- 
mer and  fall  campaigns  of  this  year  in  the  capture  of  Vicks- 
burg  and  relieving  the  Mississippi  river  from  hostile  ob- 
structions from  source  to  mouth,  the  repulse  of  Lee  in 
Pennsylvania,  besides  their  holdings  in  the  Carolinas  and 
northeastern  Virginia,  induced  the  President  to  seriously  con- 


KECONSTRUCTIOX  IN  TENNESSEE.  171 

sider  tlie  rehabilitation  of  such  states  or  parts  of  states  as 
were  deemed  permanently  under  the  Federal  control.  He 
determined  to  issue  a  proclamation  of  amnesty  as  the  first 
step  in  this  direction.  This  document  accompanied  his 
annual  message  to  Congress,  and  was  dated  the  8th  of  De- 
cember, 1863.  It  embodied  his  plan  of  reconstruction,  and 
promised  "  pardon  and  restoration  of  property,  except  as  to 
slaves,  to  all  who  directly  or  by  implication  have  participated 
in  the  existing  rebellion,  with  certain  exceptions  specified, 
upon  their  taking  an  oath  to  "henceforth  support,  protect 
and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  the 
Union  of  the  States  thereunder;  abide  by  and  support  all 
acts  of  Congress  passed,  and  all  proclamations  of  the  Presi- 
dent made  with  reference  to  slaves,  so  far  and  so  long  as  not 
repealed,  modified  or  held  void  by  Congress  or  by  decision  of 
the  Supreme  Court."  He  further  promised  that  whenever  a 
number  of  persons  in  and  of  the  states  at  war  with  the 
Union,  not  less  than  one-tenth  of  the  vote  cast  in  the  Presi- 
dential election  of  1860,  and  being  qualified  voters  under  the 
laws  previous,  to  secession,  shall  reestablish  a  State  Govern- 
ment, republican  in  form  and  in  nowise  contravening  the  said 
oath,  ^'such  shall  be  recognized  as  the  true  Government  of 
the  state,'^  etc.,  etc.  This  was,  substantially,  Mr.  Lincoln's 
plan  of  reconstruction. 

The  first  step  subsequent  to  its  promulgation,  taken  by  the 
Military  Governor  of  Tennessee,  was  a  proclamation,  dated 
January  26th,  1864,  ordering  county  elections  to  be  held  on 
the  first  Saturday  in  March.  In  this  proclamation  he  an- 
nounced that  these  elections  were  ordered  in  Tennessee  as  a 
state  of  the  Union  ;  prescribed  the  qualification  of  voters  and 
an  oath  to  be  taken  by  each  elector  before  voting.  This  oath 
varied  from  the  one  prescribed  by  the  President,  in  requiring 
the  affiant  to  support  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  to  promise  to  '^ conduct  himself  as  a  true 
and  faithful  citizen  of  the  United  States,''  ardently  desiring 
the  suppression  of  the  present  insurrection  and  rebellion 
against  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  etc.,  etc. 

The  marked  difference  between  the  oath  required  by  the 
proclamation  of  the  President  and  that  of  the  Military  Gov- 


J 72  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

ernor  attracted  attention,  and  the  question  arose  as  to  whether 
the  amnesty  oath  wouhl  not  be  sutlicient  for  a  voter,  without 
taking  that  prescribed  by  the  Governor,  and  was  submitted 
to  the  President,  who  replied,  "In  county  elections  you  had 
better  stand  by  Governor  Johnson's  plan,  otherwise  you  will 
have  conflict  and  confusion.     I  have  seen  his  plan/' 

This  election  was  a  failure.  Comparatively  few  of  the 
qualified  voters  appeared  at  the  polls.  At  military  posts,  such 
as  Nashville  and  Memphis,  Government  employees  who  had 
been  in  the  place  six  months,  contributed  the  larger  part  of 
the  vote,  small  as  it  was.  Davidson  County  (including  the 
Capital  of  the  state)  cast  only  1229  for  Sheriff  out  of  6665 
votes  cast  in  1860.     Only  a  few  counties  voted  at  all. 

In  the  meantime  there  were  certain  Unionists,  persons  who, 
in  the  earlier  stages  of  the  war,  had  made  themselves  conspicu- 
ous in  opposition  to  the  then-existing  order  of  things,  and  who 
were  now  im])atient  because  the  state  was  not  resolved  to  har- 
monious relations  with  the  Union.  They  were  not  warriors,  but 
statesmen  ;  refugees  at  one  time,  and,  at  another,  in  some  co- 
terie or  meeting  of  persons  of  like  situation,  bewailing 
together  the  deplorable  condition  of  the  country.  These  men 
were  never  contented  with  the  movements  of  the  armies  nor 
with  the  measures  of  civil  administration.  Their  hearts  were 
filled  with  bitterness,  and  their  minds  with  plans  to  crush  and 
destroy  the  adversary.  There  was  another  class  of  Unionists, 
who  remained  at  home  and  attended  to  their  business  as  best 
they  might,  giving  no  conspicuous  demonstration  of  elation 
or  depression,  in  the  varying  exigencies  of  war,  thoughtful 
and  watchful  observers  of  events,  patriotic  in  their  hearts  and 
true  to  their  convictions. 

The  Presidential  campaign  followed  in  1864.  On  the  2nd 
of  August  of  that  year,  a  meeting  was  held  at  Nashville, 
which  called  a  convention  to  be  held  on  the  5th  of  September, 
to  consider  the  reorganization  of  the  state,  and  the  question 
of  putting  out  an  electoral  ticket  and  undertaking  to  hold  an 
election  for  President  in  November. 

This  convention  met  pursuant  to  the  call,  only  a  few  coun- 
ties holding  primary  meetings  to  appoint  delegates.  It  was 
largely  composed  of  the  military  element,  the  1st  Tennessee 


KECUNSTRUCTION  IX  TENNESSEE.  173 

Cavalry,  2nd  Tennessee  Mounted  Infantry,  and  the  1st  Ten- 
nessee Infantry  sending  representatives  for  33  counties.  But 
the  convention  adopted  a  resolution  admitting  as  qualified 
to  participate  in  its  deliberations,  "all  unconditional  Union 
men,  who  are  for  all  the  measures  of  the  Government  looking 
to  putting  down  the  rebellion,  from  diiferent  parts  of  the 
state/' 

The  convention  adopted  resolutions  favoring  the  appoint- 
ment of  agents  to  look  after  the  interests  of  soldiers  and  their 
families;  the  enrollment  and  organization  of  the  militia;  the 
immediate  abandi^nment  of  slavery,  and  its  prohibition  by 
amendment  of  the  state  constitution  ;  the  removal  from  office 
of  all  disloyal  men  ;  the  holding  of  an  election  for  President 
by  the  Union  people,  and  the  oath  prescribed  in  March  to  be 
required  of  electors ;  and  requesting  the  Military  Governor 
to  execute  the  resolutions  in  such  manner  as  he  might  deem 
best.  The  convention  also  nominated  a  Lincoln  and  Johnson 
electoral  ticket,  and  appointed  an  Executive  Committee  of 
fifteen — five  from  each  grand  division  of  the  state. 

Another  ticket  fav^oring  McClellan  and  Pendleton  was  sub- 
sequently brought  out  by  parties  not  in  sympathy  with  the 
convention,  but  was  withdrawn  before  the  election. 

On  the  7th  of  September,  1864,  during  the  session  of  the 
convention,  the  Military  Governor  issued  his  proclamation 
declaring  his  purpose  to  proceed  to  appoint  officers  and  esta- 
blish tribunals,  as  he  had  heretofore  done,  in  all  the  counties 
and  districts  of  the  state,  wherever  the  people  gave  evidence 
of  loyalty  and  a  desire  for  civil  government,  all  officers  to  take 
the  oath  last  prescribed. 

On  the  13th  of  September  he  issued  a  proclamation  order- 
ing the  enrollment  of  the  militia  of  the  State  in  accordance 
with  the  wish  of  the  late  convention,  between  the  ages  of 
18  and  50  years,  the  magistrates  to  be  the  enrolling  officers, 
and  those  failing  or  refusing  to  serve  without  good  excuse  to 
be  sent  beyond  the  limits  of  the  state. 

On  the  30th  of  September  the  (military)  Governor  issued 
his  proclamation,  under  the  request  of  the  convention,  order- 
ing an  election  for  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States  to  be  held  at  the  county-seat  or  other  suitable  place  in 


174  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

every  county  in  the  state,  in  the  following  November,  at  which 
all  citizens  and  soldiers,  six  months  resident  in  the  state  pre- 
vious to  the  election,  being  white,  and  citizens  of  the  United 
States  and  loyal  to  the  Union,  were  authorized  to  vote.  '*  To 
secure  the  ballot-box  against  the  contamination  of  treason," 
the  oath  prescribed  by  the  convention  was  required  of  the 
voter.  This  remarkable  product  of  a  popular  meeting  thus 
became  a  law  controlling  the  highest  right  of  the  citizen,  and 
compelled  the  elector  to  swear  tliat  he  was  an  active  friend  of 
the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  the  enemy  of  the 
so-called  Confederate  States ;  that  he  ardently  desired  the 
suppression  of  the  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  etc., 
etc.,  with  great  amplification  of  detail. 

Upon  the  appearance  of  this  proclamation  the  McClellan 
and  Pendleton  electors  united  in  a  protest  addressed  to  the 
President,  in  which  they  asserted  that  the  method  prescribed 
was  contrary  to  the  election  laws  of  Tennessee  ;  that  it  ad- 
mitted persons  to  vote  not  allowed  by  the  law ;  that  it  pro- 
vided for  holding  the  election  at  only  one  place  in  the  county, 
when  the  law  required  it  in  each  civil  district ;  that  the  oath 
required  was  unusual  and  a  test  oath.  They  further  pro- 
tested against  the  interference  of  the  militarv  Governor  Avith 
the  elective  franchise,  and  asked  that  all  military  interference 
be  w^ithdrawn  ''  so  far  as  to  allow  the  loyal  men  of  Tennessee 
a  full  and  free  election,  meaning  by  the  loyal  men  of  Tennes- 
see those  who  have  not  participated  in  the  rebellion  or  given 
it  aid  and  comfort,  or  who  may  have  complied  with  such 
terms  of  amnesty  as  have  been  offered  them  under  your  au- 
thority.'^ 

This  protest  was  presented  to  the  President  on  the  15th  of 
October  by  John  Lellyett,  of  Nashville,  one  of  the  signers 
and  one  of  the  McClellan  Presidential  electors.  From  the 
accounts  of  the  interview  which  reached  the  public  at  the 
time,  Mr.  Lellyett  did  not  find  Mr.  Lincoln  in  the  amiable 
frame  of  mind  usual  with  him,  or  that  jocose  disposition  with 
which  he  often  looked  upon  the  gravest  concerns.  The  ver- 
bal interview  closed  without  a  satisfactory  reply  to  the  protest. 
A  formal  written  answer  was  given  on  the  22d  of  October, 
which  closed  with  :  ^'  Except  it  be  to  give  protection  against 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  175 

violence,  I  decline  to  interfere  in  any  way  with  any  Presiden- 
tial election/'     The  effect  of  these  events  was  the  withdrawal 
of  the  McClellan  and  Pendleton  ticket  from  the  race  in  Ten- 
nessee.    The  Presidential  election  which  followed  in  Tennes- 
see was  a  farce.     The  people  refrained  from  participating  in 
a  proceeding  so  far  from  the  free  and  unrestrained  elections 
to  which  they  had  been  accustomed.    They  did  not  look  upon 
this  as  having  the  sanction  of  law,  or  as  possessing  proper  au- 
thority and   regularity.     At  Nashville,  as  an  example,  the 
vote  was  only  1228,  and  came  largely  from  Government  em- 
ployees.    By  joint  resolution  of  Congress  the  electoral  vote 
of  Tennessee  was  not  received  and  counted,  on  the  ground,  as 
stated  in  the  j)reamble,  that  the  state  had  "  rebelled  against  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  and  was  in  such  condition 
on  the  8th  day  of  Nov^ember,  1864,  that  no  valid  election  for 
electors  of  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States, 
according  to  the  Constitution  and  laws  thereof,  \vas   held 
on  said  day.'' 

These  fruitless  steps  towards  reconstruction  in  Tennessee 
were  discouraging,  the  more  so  from  the  fact  that  a  decided 
difference  of  opinion  and  feeling  had  developed  among  the 
leading  Unionists,  shown  in  the  two  presidential  electoral 
tickets.  A  period  had  now  arrived  that  required  more  deci- 
sive action.  The  election  of  the  militaiy  Governor  to  the 
Vice- Presidency  would  soon  call  him  from  the  state  and  from 
his  official  duties  as  Governor. 

The  Executive  Committee  appointed  by  the  September 
convention,  published  a  call  in  December  for  the  assembling 
of  a  convention  at  Nashville,  on  the  9th  of  January,  1865,  to 
take  counsel  as  to  the  best  method  of  restoring  the  state  to  its 
proper  relations  with  the  Union,  It  was  not  expected 
that  it  would  do  more  than  to  provide  for  a  constitutional 
convention  composed  of  delegates  to  be  elected  by  the  peo- 
ple, with  authority  to  act  in  all  matters  relating  to  the  or- 
ganic law. 

The  convention  assembled  on  Monday,  the  9th  of  January, 
pursuant  to  the  call.  It  was  composed,  like  that  of  Septem- 
ber, of  comparatively  few  holding  credentials  from  primary 
county  meetings.     It  was  in  session  five  days.     The  result  of 


176  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

its  deliberations  was:  the  adoption  of  an  amendment  to  the 
State  Constitution  abolishing  slavery  and  forbidding  the 
Legislature  to  make  "any  law  recognising  the  right  of 
property  in  man  ;  "  and  a  schedule  which  repeated  the  section 
of  the  Constitution  forbidding  the  General  Assembly  to  pass 
enancipat<on  laws,  annulled  the  military  league  made  with  the 
Confederate  states,  the  state  declaration  of  independence  and 
the  act  of  separation  ;  suspended  the  statute  of  limitations 
from  May  6,  1861  ;  provided  that  actions  for  torts  begun  by 
attachment  might  not  be  proceeded  in  without  personal  ser- 
vice of  process  on  the  defendants  ;  annulled  all  laws  and  ordi- 
ances  of  the  second  state  Government,  and  forbade  the  Legisla- 
ture to  pay  any  bonds,  interest  or  debts  contracted  or  issued  by 
it ;  and  affirmed  all  civil  and  military  acts  of  Governor  Johnson. 
Provision  was  made  for  asubmission  of  ihis  action  to  a  vote  of  the 
people  on  the  22nd  of  February  ensuing ;  and  in  the  event  of  its 
ratification,  for  an  election  of  Governor  and  members- of  the 
General  Assembly,  the  latter  to  be  voted  for  on  a  general  ticket 
on  the  4th  of  March,  and  to  assemble  on  the  2nd  of  April,  fol- 
lowing. The  convention  also  nominated  William  G.  Brownlow 
for  Governor,  and  recommended  a  full  legislative  ticket  in  an- 
ticipation of  ratification.  This  unprecedented,  radical,  irregular 
and  unauthorized  proceeding  was  attempted  to  be  justified  by  an 
appeal  to  the  Bill  of  Rights. 

The  election  was  held  on  the  appointed  day,  February  22, 
1865.  Fifteen  counties  in  East,  twenty-one  in  Middle,  and 
one  (Shelby)  in  West  Tennessee  appear  to  have  voted,  to  and 
with  the  vote  of  the  soldiers,  the  result  was :  For,  25,293  ; 
against,  48. 

The  vote  of  the  state  at  the  Presidential  election  in  1860 
was  145,333.  This  was  considered  and  held  as  more  than  a 
compliance  with  the  provision  of  the  President's  proclama- 
tion of  the  8th  of  December,  1863,  relating  to  reconstructing 
rebellious  states  by  a  number  of  loyal  persons  not  less  than 
ten  per  cent,  of  the  vote  cast  in  such  state  in  the  Presidential 
election  of  1860,  whereby  the  President  came  under  special 
promise  to  guarantee  Tennessee  a  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment, and  protect  her  against  invasion  and  domestic  violence. 
Governor  Johnson,  on  the  25th  of  February,  issued  his  proc- 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  177 

lamation  declaring  the  amendment  to  the  Constitution  and 
the  schedule  duly  ratified,  saying,  *'  Complete  returns  have 
not  yet  been  made,  but  enough  is  known  to  place  the  result 
beyond  all  doubt." 

The  election  was  duly  held  on  the  4th  of  March,  and  Wm. 
G.  Brownlow  was  elected  without  opposition,  receiving  23,352 
votes  against  3.5  scattering,  a  falling  off  of  1,906  from  the 
February  election,  but  still  within  the  guarantee  clause  of 
Mr.  Lincoln's  amnesty  proclamation.  The  Legislativ^e  ticket 
received  the  same  as  that  for  Governor ;  as  they  were  not 
elected  by  and  from  counties  and  districts  as  always  in  the 
past.  The  ballot  containing  the  name  of  the  Governor  voted 
for,  had  also  the  names  of  twenty-five  candidates  for  the 
Senate  and  eighty-four  names  of  candidates  for  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  the  number  cast  for  one  was  cast  for  all. 
By  this  method  the  Carter  County  member  is  voted  for  in 
Shelby,  and  vice  versa. 

A  point  had  now  been  reached  where  reconstruction  was 
nominally  an  accomplished  fact,  dependent  for  permanency 
on  the  success  of  the  Federal  arms  in  the  contest  with  the 
Confederate  States.  Up  to  this  period  only  one  object  was 
professed  by  the  Unionists  of  Tennessee,  the  restoration  of 
the  state's  relations  to  the  Federal  Union  as  they  existed  prior 
to  1861  ;  and  that  object  had  now  been  achieved,  so  far  as 
those  adhering  to  the  Union  could  accomplish  it.  A  Gov- 
ernor and  General  Assembly,  elected  by  a  popular  vote,  how- 
ever small,  was  about  to  assemble  and  start  the  machinery  of 
a  state  administration  in  its  old  movements.  The  operations 
of  the  army  in  1864  had  left  Sherman  in  undisturbed  posses- 
sion of  Georgia.  The  old  army  of  Albert  Sidney  Johnston, 
under  Bragg,  Joe  Johnson  and  Hood,  at  different  periods, 
had  been  broken  at  Franklin  and  shattered  at  Nashville,  and 
its  bleeding  remnants  were  making  their  way  to  North  Caro- 
lina to  join  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston  in  a  last  show  of  re- 
sistance to  Sherman's  unobstructed  marches  through  the 
Southern  country.  Everything,  therefore,  was  bright  and 
hopeful  for  the  overthrow  of  the  Confederate  cause,  and  the 
complete  success  of  the  Federal  armies. 

The  policy  tobe  pursued  in  the  administration  in  practi- 
12 


178  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

cally  restoring  the  people  to  their  civil  rights  and  privileges, 
offered  gronnds  for  differences  of  opinion  and  jndgment. 

The  Legislature  having  convened  on  the  2d  of  April,  on 
the  5th  the  Governor  was  inaugurated. 

In  a  few  days  the  surrender  of  General  Lee  and  the  flight 
of  the  Confederate  Government  from  Richmond  relieved  them 
of  all  anxiety  on  the  subject  of  their  tenure.  Another  few 
days  brought  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  and  the 
succession  of  Andrew  Johnson  to  the  Presidency.  Events 
had  so  shaped  themselves  that  the  Governor  and  Legislature 
were  afforded  the  most  brilliant  opportunity  for  the  adoption 
of  measures  for  the  speedy  return  of  the  people  to  the  occu- 
pations and  to  the  orderly  habits  of  times  of  peace.  From 
the  first  to  the  middle  of  May,  returning  soldiers,  with  their 
pledges  to  be  and  to  conduct  themselves  as  peaceable  and  law- 
abiding  citizens,  began  to  appear,  in  search  of  the  homes  they 
had  left  four  years  before.  Worn  and  foot-sore,  hungry  and 
penniless,  tired  of  war's  disasters  and  privations,  the  ex-sol- 
dier was  ready  and  willing  to  keep  his  faith  to  his  parole.  He 
cherished  no  hostility  to  his  fellow-citizens  who  had  adhered 
to  the  Union,  and  were  now  in  control  of  state  affairs.  He 
regarded  it  as  his  first  duty  to  build  up  the  waste  that  he  had 
found,  reconstruct  his  home  and  provide  himself  with  a  liveli- 
hood. He  did  not  concern  himself  at  that  time  with  affairs 
of  state.  He  was  content  to  leave  them  to  the  hands  into 
which  they  had  fallen.  He  knew  well  enough  the  irregulari- 
ties, the  assumptions  and  the  unprecedented  methods  by  which 
this  power  had  been  obtained,  and  accepted  and  justified  it 
upon  the  broad  ground  of  necessity.  The  circumstances  at 
the  time  of  the  women,  children  and  male  non-combatants, 
exposed  to  any  and  every  species  of  abuse  and  outrage,  justi- 
tified  the  effort  to  organize  civil  government  and  furnish  such 
measure  of  protection  as  the  condition  and  abilities  of  the  au- 
thorities would  allow.  He  did  not  complain  at  the  fact  that 
the  civil  government  he  found  at  the  state  capitol  was  the  re- 
presentative of  not  more  than  one-seventh  of  the  voting  popu- 
lation of  the  state.  He  knew  well  that  with  the  prevalence 
of  peace  and  order,  the  recuperative  resources  of  the  soil,  the 
industry  of  the  people,  and  the  intelligence  of  the  voters,  the 


KECONST RUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  179 

evils  apprehended  would  be  avoided  or  soon  corrected  by  the 
free  and  orderly  expression  of  the  popular  will.  The  returned 
Confederate,  therefore,  was  the  friend  of  the  established  gov- 
ernment. He  knew  that  it  was  henceforth  to  be  his  govern- 
ment ;  and  it  became  at  once  his  interest  as  well  as  his  desire 
to  see  it  administered  for  the  peace,  happiness  and  prosperity  of 
all.  That  such  was  not  the  case  was  not  his  fault.  He  went 
forward  in  submission  to  authority  and  in  the  path  of  peace. 

The  Governor  and  Legislature  took  a  different  view  of  his 
mind  and  purposes.  They  looked  upon  him  as  a  red-handed 
enemy  to  order,  with  a  heart  filled  with  war  and  hatred  of 
peace,  ready  at  any  moment  to  overturn  the  existing  order  of 
things,  and  to  do  all  sorts  of  ferocious  acts.  In  this  he  was 
to  be  curbed  by  the  most  stringent  and  rigid  means  at  their 
command.  To  exclude  him  from  the  ballot  was  one  of  the 
means  used  as  most  effective.  The  law  enacted  for  tiiis  pur- 
pose on  the  5th  of  June,  proscribed  Confederates  aud  Con- 
federate sympathizers  in  the  most  comprehensive  terms  possi- 
ble to  devise.  The  oath  required  to  be  taken  by  voters  when 
challenged,  by  all  judges  of  election  and  candidates  for  office, 
was  as  rigid  and  comprehensive  as  those  previously  required  ; 
and  practically  disfranchised  three-fourths  or  more  of  the 
people  of  the  state. 

Besides  the  franchise  law,  acts  were  passed  at  this  session  of 
the  Legislature,  to  punish  speaking  or  printing  scurrilous 
libel  against  the  State  or  General  Government,  with  fine  and 
imprisonment  and  disqualifying  to  hold  office  in  the  state  for 
three  years;  to  authorize  the  sheriffs  of  the  state  to  raise  a 
posse  of  twenty-five  men,  or  as  many  more  as  they  might 
severally  deem  necessary  as  County  Guards  to  consist  of  "  un- 
questionably loyal  men/^  and  to  redistrict  the  state  under  the 
census  of  1860  into  eight  Congressional  districts.  Among  the 
resolutions  one  of  the  first  to  be  adopted  was  the  amendment 
to  the  United  States  constitution  abolishing  slavery,  which 
was  adopted  on  the  5th  of  April  ;  also  one  confirming  the  ap- 
pointments made  by  the  late  military  Governor,  leaving  it  to 
the  discretion  of  Governor  Brownlow  to  issue  writs  of  election 
to  fill  vacancies.  On  the  t^lst  of  April  a  resolution  w^as 
adopted  requesting  that  the  President  proclaim  the  state  to  be 


180  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

no  longer  considered  in  a  state  of  insurrection.  This  was  fol- 
lowed on  the  9th  of  May  by  a  resolution  calling  upon  the 
President  for  troops  to  guarantee  Tennessee  a  republican  form 
of  government  and  to  protect  her  against  invasion  and  do- 
mestic violence.  This  Legislature  also  elected  the  executive 
state  officers,  Secretary  of  State,  Comptroller,  Treasurer,  and 
United  States  Senators,  Judge  David  T.  Patterson  for  the 
term  expiring  March  4th,  1869,  and  Jos.  S.  Fowler  for  the 
terra  ending  March  4th,  1871  ;  and  on  the  12th  of  June  ad- 
journed until  the  first  Monday  in  October,  1865. 

Elected  as  this  body  was  on  a  general  ticket,  the  members 
were  not  generally  of  the  most  gifted  order  of  men,  most  of 
them  being  wholly  inexperienced  in  public  affairs  and  igno- 
rant of  the  methods  of  legislation.     There  were  some  notable 
exceptions  to  this  rule,  but   so  many  of  these  were  radical  in 
their  views,  that  the  voice   of  the  conservative  element  was 
wholly  lost  in  the  mad  currents  of  the  hour.     This  ignorant 
and  inexperienced  majority  had  followed   the  radical   lead  in 
this  first  session  and  ena(;ted  the  laws  and  adopted  the  resolu- 
tions above  noted, — the  franchise  act  having  passed  the  Senate 
by  a  vote  of  twenty  to  one,  and  the  House  forty-two  to  twenty- 
one.     Still  other  and  more  extreme  measures  were  introduced 
and  warmly  discussed  without  adoption.     As  an  indication  of 
the  spirit  cherished  and  manifested  by  the  "radicals"  toward 
the  so-called  rebels  a  bill  was  introduced  into  the   House  on 
the  18th  of  May  and  passed  by  a  vote  of  fifty-eight  to  five  to 
prevent   persons  from  wearing  the  "rebel  uniform,''  under  a 
penalty  of  $5  to  §25  for  privates  and  §25  to  §50  for  officers, 
thus  punishing  the  Southern  soldiers,  then  beginning  to  return 
without  a  dollar  in  their   pockets,  for  appearing  in  the  only 
clothes  they  had.     Bills  were  offered  depriving  ministers  who 
aided  or  sympathized  in  any  way  in  "the  rebellion"  of  the 
right  to  celebrate  the  rites  of  marriage,  and  subjecting  them 
to  the  payment  of  poll-tax,  to  work  on   public  roads  and  to 
serve  in  the  militia,  which  passed  the  Senate  and  was  rejected 
by  the  House  ;  and  also  requiring  women  to  take  the  oath  of 
loyalty  before  a  license  should  issue  for  her  marriage.     A  bill 
prescribing  a  test-oath  for  plaintiffs  in  lawsuits  only  failed  in 
the  Senate  by  a  vote  of  ten  to  eleven. 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  181 

The  interval  between  the  12th  of  June  and  the  2nd  of 
October,  1865,  gave  the  Governor  and  Legislature  an  oppor- 
tunity to  witness  the  practical  workino;3  of  tiieir  reconstructive 
legislation.  During  this  vacation  (August  3rd)  an  election 
was  held  under  proclamation  by  the  Governor,  for  Congress- 
men and  to  fill  such  vacancies  as  had  occurred  in  the  General 
Assembly.  An  opportunity  was  also  afforded  to  observe  the 
temper  and  demeanor  of  the  large  majority  of  the  people  who 
were  disfranchised.  These  were  found  pursuing  their  voca- 
tions as  best  they  could  under  the  circumstances ;  being 
really  more  concerned  in  providing  the  necessaries  to  sustain 
life  than  in  who  was  to  hold  the  offices,  and  enjoy  the  emolu- 
ments of  public  station.  As  a  rule  they  were  quiet  and  peace- 
ful. The  courts  in  some  localities  had  instituted  proceedings 
a«;ainst  some  of  this  class  for  acts  committed  durintr  the  war 
and  in  a  military  capacity.  Jn  East  Tennessee  especially  they 
were  received  with  coldness,  and,  they  had  many  personal 
grievances  to  settle.  These  were  local,  and  mostly  individual 
in  their  nature,  and  had  no  relation  to  the  validity  of  the  exist- 
ing state  government,  or  the  peaceful  execution  of  the  laws  by 
the  masses  of  the  people. 

The  (governor,  on  the  10th  of  July,  in  view  of  the  ap- 
proaching August  election,  issued  a  proclamation,  wdiich  in- 
dicated his  future  action,  warning  the  people  that  all  who 
should  "  band  themselves  together  to  defeat  the  execution  of 
the  Act  to  limit  the  elective  franchise  will  be  declared  in  re- 
bellion against  the  state  of  Tennessee,  and  dealt  with  as 
rebels";  that  the  votes  cast  in  violation  of  this  law,  ^' will 
not  be  taken  into  account  in  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State  "; 
that  he  would  "  treat  no  person  as  a  candidate  who  has  not 
taken  the  oath  prescribed  in  the  7th  section  of  the  Ac*t.,  and 
filed  it  with  the  Secretary  of  State  by  the  3rd  day  of  August, 
1865";  concluding  with  :  ''And  I  call  upon  the  civil  author- 
ities throughout  the  state,  to  arrest  and  bring  to  justice  all 
persons  who,  under  pretence  of  being  candidates  for  Congress 
or  other  office,  are  traveling  over  the  state  denouncing  and 
nullifying  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  land,  and  spread- 
ing sedition  and  a  spirit  of  rebellion.^' 

On  the  12th  of  July,  the  Governor  issued  an  "  address  to 


182  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

the  people  of  Tennessee,"  in  which  he  reviewed  the  steps  lead- 
ing to  and  defining  the  basis  on  which  the  present  state 
government  was  established.  The  substance  was  that  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  being  bound  by  the  Con- 
stitution to  guarantee  to  each  state  a  republican  form  of 
government,  had  a  right  to  choose  the  form  best  adapted  to 
the  condition  of  the  people  and  the  means  of  putting  it  on 
foot.  It  is  not  for  us  to  criticise  or  complain  of  the  form 
or  method  chosen.  It  has  done  so  and  complied  with  its 
obligation.  The  President's  plan  of  reconstruction  is  a 
model.  The  Governor  states,  that  the  convention  of  the 
9th  of  January,  1865,  was  the  initiatory  means  chosen  by 
the  National  Administration  ;  that  the  convention  consisted 
of  over  500  delegates,  but  numbers  were  not  essential — the 
National  Administration  could  have  acted  even  through  one 
man  in  this  matter ;  and  that  the  State  Government  was 
forced  upon  the  rebellious  majority,  for  nothing  but  force 
was  recognized  by  them.  "And  yet,"  he  indignantly  ex- 
claims, "aspiring  politicians  in  their  harrangues  denounce 
this  State  Government  as  unconstitutional,  and  spurious,  and 
a  usurpation!"  He  did  not  fail  to  avow  in  this  address 
his  purpose  to  unseat,  by  military  force,  all  officers  elected 
in  violation  of  the  franchise  law,  and  his  purpose  to  see 
that  Congressmen  so  elected  should  not  take  their  seats. 

This  August  election  was  unattended  by  violence  in  any 
part  of  tlie  state,  and  resulted  in  the  election  to  Congress  of 
Nathaniel  G.  Taylor,  Horace  Maynard,  Wm.  B.  Stokes,  Ed- 
mund Cooper,  Wm.  B.  Campbell,  Dorsey  B.  Thomas,  Isaac 
R.  Hawkins  and  John  W.  Leftwich,  for  the  districts  in  the 
order  named.     The  total  vote  cast  in  th,e  state  was  61,783. 

On  the  11th  of  August  and  before  the  returns  were  received, 
the  Governor,  in  pursuance  of  a  purpose,  hinted  at  in  his 
proclamation  of  July  10th,  and  more  openly  avowed  in  his 
address  of  July  12th,  issued  a  proclamation  calling  upon 
clerks,  sheriffs  and  loyal  citizens  for  information  as  to 
whether  the  registration  had  been  in  accordance  with  the  re- 
quirements of  the  Franchise  law.  Acting  upon  information 
thus  derived,  he  threw  out,  and  refused  to  count,  the  votes  of 
twenty-nine  counties,  casting  a  vote  of  22,274,  leaving  the 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  183 

total  legal  vote,  39,509.  The  vote  cast  out  was  in  every  dis- 
trict, and  applied  to  every  candidate ;  but  changed  the  result 
in  only  one  district — the  sixth. 

Dorsey  B.  Thomas  of  Humphreys,  received  2,805  votes, 
while  Samuel  M.  xVrnell,  of  Maury,  received  2,350.  By  the 
Governor's  count,  he  discarded  2,284  of  the  vote  of  Thomas 
and  elected  Arnell  by  a  majority  of  more  than  1,000,  and 
Mr.  Arnell  took  his  seat  with  the  rest  when  they  were  ad- 
mitted on  the  24th  of  July,  1866.  They  were  all  elected  as 
Union  men,  as  friends  and  supporters  of  the  present  State 
Government;  but  Taylor,  Cooper,  Campbell  and  Leftwich 
were  conservatives,  opposed  to  disfranchisement  and  test 
oaths,  and  in  favor  of  a  compliance  with  the  terms  of  peace 
as  made  upon  the  cessation  of  armed  hostilities;  while  the 
others  were  extremists,  and  denominated  '^radicals''  in  the 
parlance  of  the  day.  This  action  of  the  Governor  did  not 
pass  without  criticism  and  rebuke  in  the  Legislature,  though 
sustained  by  that  body.  It  was  truly  characterized  as  an  as- 
sumption of  power  unwarranted  by  law,  unjustified  by  facts, 
and  an  act  of  despotic  usurption,  pure  and  simple.  A  minor- 
ity in  both  the  Senate  and  the  House  demanded  a  showing  of 
the  papers  on  which  this  unauthorized,  flagitious  usurpation 
was  based  ;  but  the  majority  declined  to  yield  to  their 
demands. 

But  neither  the  Senators  nor  Representatives  from  Tennes- 
see were  admitted  to  their  seats  in  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress 
at  its  opening  on  the  first  Monday  of  December,  1865,  a  few 
of  the  reasons  for  which  there  should  here  be  briefly  stated. 

From  the  day  the  oath  was  administered  to  him  as  Presi- 
dent, to  the  meeting  and  organization  of  this  Congress,  An- 
drew Johnson  steadily  pursued  the  plan  of  reconstruction  for- 
mulated and  adopted  by  President  Lincoln  prior  to  his  death. 
In  this  he  had  every  reason  to  expect  the  support  of  the 
friends  of  Mr.  Lincoln  ;  and  by  it  to  speedily  restore  the 
late  "  rebel  '^  states  to  their  former  constitutional  places  in  the 
Union,  and  their  proper  relations  to  the  Federal  administra- 
tion. Under  this  plan  the  theory  that  the  states  had  ever 
been  out  of  the  Union  by  pretended  acts  of  secession,  was  de- 
nied, and  it  was  contended  that  the  power  to  execute  the  Fed- 


184  ^^^BT  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

eral  laws,  had  been  temporarily  suspended  in  these  states  by 
armed  resistance ;  that  as  soon  as  that  resistance  was  over- 
come and  ceased,  the  Executive  .should  see  that  the  laws  of 
the  Union  should  be  observed  and  enforced  therein  ;  that  the 
people  should  be  afforded  an  opportunity  in  conventions  to 
annul  the  acts  and  proceedings  by  which  they  had  put  them- 
selves in  antagonism  to  the  Federal  authority,  and  to  take 
such  action  as  would  conform  their  constitutions  and  govern- 
ments to  the  changes  which  the  war  had  wrought  in  the  Gov- 
ernment during  its  progress;  that  having  done  this  and 
elected  Senators  and  Representatives  to  Congress,  it  only  re- 
mained for  the  two  Houses  respectively  to  judge  of  their 
election  and  qualifications  in  admitting  them  to  their  seats. 

Congress  took  a  wholly  different  view  of  the  situation,  and 
refused  to  recognize  the  new  state  government.  The  Legis- 
lature met  in  adjourned  session  on  the  2d  of  October.  The 
Governor's  message  was  hopeful  in  tone.  He  stated  that  the 
county  clerks  had  been  neglectful  of  duty  in  some  instances, 
and  advised  that  the  franchise  law  be  amended  in  some 
respects,  but  not  repealed.  He  advised  ^'fuU  pardon  to  the 
masses — the  young  and  deluded,  who  followed  blindly  the 
standard  of  revolt,  provided  they  act  as  becomes  their  cir- 
cumstances." The  unrepentant  should  suffer  the  five  years  of 
disfranchisement,  while  the  active  leaders  "  are  entitled 
neither  to  mercy  nor  forbearance."  There  were  some  negroes 
he  would  now  give  suffrage,  but  he  was  opposed  as  unsafe  to 
conferring  the  right  on  all.  He  still  favored  their  coloniza- 
tion as  the  best  disposition  to  be  made  of  the  race.  The 
message  was  elaborate,  and  discussed  at  length  the  state's 
interest  in  railroads,  turnpikes,  schools,  the  public  debt,  etc. 

Up  to  this  time  the  negro  was  a  disagreeable  subject  to 
handle.  While  conforming  the  constitution  to  Lincoln's 
emancipation  proclamation,  in  January,  February  and  April, 
1865,  the  members  of  the  Legislature,  who  largely  composed 
the  convention  of  January  seem  not  to  have  anticipated  the 
rapidity  with  which  that  question  would  swell  in  their  hands. 
In  his  inital  message.  Governor  Brownlow,  had  opposed  the 
granting  suffrage  to  the  negro  ;  and  had  favored  his  removal 
from  the  United  States,  and  colonization   elsewhere  by  the 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  185 

general  government.  Such  an  idea  as  civil  or  social  equality, 
had  not  been  seriously  entertained,  and  yet  these  questions  were 
held  to  be  of  fully  as  high  importance  by  the  reconstruction- 
ists  in  Congress,  as  those  relating  to  the  "  rebels "  were  by 
the  reconstructionists  in  Tennessee.  There  was  a  strono-  dis- 
position on  the  part  of  the  majority  of  them,  to  avoid  the 
issue.  A  prominent  Senator  from  East  Tennessee,  early  in  the 
April  session,  introduced  a  resolution  as  the  sense  of  the 
members  that  they  would  support  no  man  for  United  States 
Senator  who  favored  negro  suffrage.  All  the  rights  he  had  so 
far  acquired  by  obtaining  his  freedom  were  secured  through 
the  "  Freedmen's  Bureau/^  an  institution  created  by  Congress, 
administered  by  military  agents.  The  first  step  was  taken  on 
the  25th  of  January,  1866,  making  him,  with  Indians,  a 
competent  witness  in  all  the  courts  of  the  state,  to  the  same 
extent  as  such  persons  are  competent  in  the  United  States 
Courts  by  act  of  Congress.  This  w^as  not  adequate  to  the 
emergency  then  existing;  and  on  the  26th  of  May,  1866,  the 
Legislature  gave  the  negro  the  right  "  to  make  and  enforce 
contracts,  to  sue  and  be  sued,  to  be  parties  and  give  evidence, 
to  inherit  and  have  full  and  equal  benefits  of  all  laws  and 
proceedings  for  the  security  of  person  and  estate,'^  to  be  pun- 
ished not  otherwise  for  crimes  and  offences  than  white  persons 
in  like  cases  ;  to  be  entitled  to  the  same  public  charities  as  the 
whites  ;  but  he  might  not  serve  on  juries,  nor  go  to  the  same 
schools  with  the  white  children. 

The  chief  objective  point  of  legislation  was  to  perpetuate 
the  political  power  of  the  radical  minority  by  excluding  from 
the  polls  the  majority.  The  Unionist  minority  had  become 
hopelessly  divided,  as  was  shown  by  the  defeat  of  one-half  the 
radicals  by  conservatives  in  the  August  Congressional  elections. 
An  act  to  amend  the  act  of  June  5th,  1865,  was  therefore 
matured  and  passed  on  the  3d  of  May  1866. 

This  amended  franchise  law  disenfranchised  all  citizens, 
otherwise  qualified,  '^  who  have  voluntarily  borne  arms  for, 
or  given  other  assistance  to,  sought,  accepted  or  exercised  the 
functions  of  office  under,  or  yielded  a  voluntary  support  to 
the  so-called  Confederate  States  of  America,  or  any  state 
whatever,  hostile  to  or  opposed  to  the  authority  of  the  United 


Xgg  WHY  TP.IE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

States  Government/'  provided  for  a  commissioner  of  regis- 
tration in  every  county  to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor  and 
removable  at  his  pleasure  ;  and  required  the  applicant  for  a 
certificate,  authorizing  him  to  vote,  to  prove  by  two  witnesses, 
entitled  themselves  to  vote  under  the  law,  that  he  is  so  quali- 
fied, and  also  take  an  oath  that  he  ''  was  rejoiced  at  "  the 
defeat  of  the  Confederacy,  with  many  otlier  tests  the  phrase- 
ology of  which  is  too  ample  to  be  quoted  here. 

This  legislation  would  indicate  either,  that  the  "  rebels '' 
were  a  great  deal  more  aggressive  and  dangerous  than  they 
were  a  year  before  ;  or  the  radical  numbers  and  strength  were 
decreasing,  and  it  became  necessary  to  reduce  the  number  of 
voters  by  creating  additional  restrictions  and  tests.  To  keep 
up  the  spirit  of  hate  and  bitterness,  a  resolution  was  oflPered 
and  adopted  by  good  majorities  in  both  houses,  "that  Jeffer- 
son Davis,  Jas.  M.  Mason,  R.  JM.  T.  Hunter,  Kobert  Toombs, 
Howel  Cobb,  Judah  P.  Benjamin,  Jno.  Slidell,  Robert  E. 
Lee  and  Jno.  C.  Breckenridge  have  justly  forfeited  their 
lives  ;  and  that  in  expiation  of  their  great  crime,  and  as  an 
example  for  all  time,  they  deserve  and  ought  to  suffer  the 
extreme  penalty  of  the  law  and  be  held  as  infamous  forever.'' 

All  this  harshness  toward  "rebels,"  and  half-hearted  friend- 
ship to  the  negro,  however,  was  not  sufficient  tooj)en  the  doors 
of  Congress  to  the  anxiously  awaiting  Senators  and  Repre- 
sentatives from  Tennessee.  The  Fourteenth  Amendment  to 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was  yet  demanded. 
On  the  19th  of  June,  1866,  three  days  after  its  submission  by 
Congress,  the  Governor  issued  his  proclamation  convening  the 
Legislature  to  assemble  on  the  4th  of  July  in  extra  session, 
to  adopt  or  reject  it. 

But  the  members  of  the  House  were  slow  in  reaching  the 
capitol,  a  number,  though  in  the  city,  refrained  from  appear- 
ing in  their  seats,  when  in  doing  so  their  presence  would 
bring  about  a  quorum.  The  verbal  orders  to  the  doorkeeper 
to  go  out  and  bring  in  absentees  were  ineffectual,  as  tlie  absent 
members  eluded  his  search.  This  conduct  of  members  exas- 
perated the  Governor,  who,  July  14th,  applied  to  General 
Thomas,  the  military  commander  of  this  department,  for 
assistance  to  compel  the  refractory  legislators  to  perform  their 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  187 

duty.  General  Thomas  referred  this  request  to  General 
Grant,  at  Washington.  Secretary  of  War,  Edwin  M.  Stanton, 
replied,  July  17th,  '^The  duty  of  the  United  States  forces  is 
not  to  interfere  in  any  way  in  the  controversy  between  the 
political  authorities  of  the  state,  and  General  Thonaas  will 
strictly  refrain  from  any  interference  between  them." 

Two  members.  Pleasant  Williams,  of  Carter  County,  and 
A.  J.  Martin,  of  Jackson  County,  were  in  the  city  and  about 
the  capitol,  but  refused  to  participate  in  the  proceedings,  or  to 
answer  to  their  names  on  roll-call  for  the  purpose  of  making 
a  quorum,  upon  the  ground  that  they  were  elected  before  this 
subject  was  presented,  and  they  were  unable  to  represent  the 
will  of  their  constituents  without  an  opportunity  of  consult- 
ing them,  which  they  had  not  had.  AYarrants  were  issued 
for  their  arrest,  and  to  be  ^'brought  before  the  bar  of  the 
House  to  answer  for  disorderly  conduct  and  for  contempt.'^ 
They  left  the  city  and  were  pursued  to  their  homes,  taken 
into  custody,  and  brought  to  the  House — Williams  on  the 
16th  and  Martin  on  the  17th.  They  still  adhered  to  their 
position.  Williams  applied  for  and  obtained  a  writ  of  habeas 
corjjus,  returnable  before  the  Judge  of  the  Criminal  Court, 
Hon.  Thomas  N.  Frazier,  who,  upon  hearing  the  case,  dis- 
charged the  prisoner  from  arrest.  In  the  meantime,  on  the 
19th,  and  before  the  discharge  of  Williams,  the  Sergeant-at- 
Arms  still  holding  the  two  members  in  custody  within  one  of 
the  committee  rooms,  communicating  with  the  hall  of  the 
House,  the  roll  was  called  and  the  vote  taken,  resulting  in 
forty-three  affirmative  and  eleven  negative  votes,  Williams 
and  Martin  still  failing  and  refusing  to  speak  or  to  vote. 
The  Speaker  ruled,  under  this  state  of  facts,  that  there  was 
no  quorum.  An  appeal  was  taken  from  the  ruling,  and  the 
appeal  was  sustained.  The  Senate  having  adopted  the  amend- 
ment on  the  11th,  this  ended  the  struggle  at  the  capitol  over 
the  matter  of  a  quorum,  and  was  accepted  as  the  ratification 
of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  by  Tennessee. 

Upon  his  discharge,  Williams  brought  suit  for  damages 
in  the  Circuit  Court  of  Davidson  County,  against  each  of  the 
members  who  had  contributed  to  his  arrest,  and  when  trying  to 
serve  the  process  the  Sheriff  was  ordered  from  the  Hall. 


138  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

The  House  preferred  articles  of  impeachment  against  Judge 
Frazier  for  high  crimes,  misdemeanors  and  malfeasence  in 
office  for  his  action  in  the  habeas  corpus  case.  He  was 
tried  by  the  Senate  as  a  Court  of  Impeachment  commencing 
on  the*6th  of  May,  1867,  convicted  on  the  12th  of  June  and 
by  the  judgment  of  the  Court,  deposed  from  his  office  and 
forever  disqualified  from  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust 
in  the  state.  Judge  Frazier  was  a  refugee  to  Nashville  from 
East  Tennessee,  and  was  appointed  Judge  of  the  Criminal 
Court  of  Davidson  county  by  the  Military  Governor,  An- 
drew Johnson.  He  was  a  conscientious  citizen,  a  good  lawyer, 
and  an  upright  judge.  A  Constitutional  convention  which 
was  held  in  187Q,  removed  the  pains  and  disabilities  under 
which  he  labored  from  this  judgment.  He  was  subsequently 
elected  by  a  popular  vote  to  the  seat  from  which  he  had  been 
deposed  in  the  heat  of  partisan  passion,  and  served  ably  and 
acceptably  for  the  full  term  of  eight  year. 

The  adoption  by  the  Legislature  after  this  fashion  of 
the  14th  amendment  was  at  once  communicated  to  Congress, 
and  had  the  long  wished  for  effect  of  causing  the  admission  of 
the  Senators  and  Representatives  from  Tennessee.  On  the 
24th  of  July,  the  Governor  was  notified  by  telegraph  that  the 
entire  delegation,  on  that  day  were  admitted  to  their  seats. 
The  rejoicing  at  this  event  by  the  Radical  majority  at  the  state 
capitol  was  as  enthusiastic  as  it  was  sincere.  It  had  cost  them 
much  in  the  way  of  yielding  their  long  cherished  views  of 
the  rights  and  status  of  the  negro.  It  had  drawn  them 
from  the  conservative  lines,  held  by  the  man  who  had  created 
and  imbued  them  with  life  and  power,  and  carried  them  into 
the  violent  arms  of  the  Radical  reconstructionists  in  Congress, 
who  then  looked  with  complacency  on  the  elevation  of  the  negro 
to  political  superiority  and  to  civil  and  social  equality  over 
and  with  the  white  people  of  the  South.  It  had  also  affi^rded 
the  President  an  opportunity  in  approving  the  joint  resolution 
which  admitted  the  Senators  and  Representatives,  to  expose 
the  fallacious  pretensions  of  the  majority  in  Congress,  He 
said  in  his  message  returning  it :  "  Notwithstanding  its 
anomalous  character  I  have  affixed  my  signature  thereto.  My 
approval,  however,  is  not  to  be  construed  as  an  acknowledg- 


RECONSTEUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  189 

meDt  of  the  right  of  Congress  to  pass  laws  preliminary  to  the 
admission  of  duly  qualified  Representatives  from  any  of  the 
states.  If  the  ratification  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment 
to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  be  one  of  the  con- 
ditions of  admitting  Tennessee,  and  if,  as  is  also  declared  by 
the  preamble,  said  state  government  can  only  be  restored  to 
its  former  political  relations  to  the  Union  by  the  consent  of 
the  law-making  power  of  the  United  States,  it  would  really 
seem  to  follow,  that  the  joint  resolution  which  at  this  late  day 
has  received  the  sanction  of  Congress,  should  have  been  passed, 
approved  and  placed  on  the  statute  book,  before  any  amend- 
ment to  the  Constitution  was  submitted  to  the  state  of  Ten- 
nessee, for  ratification.  Otherwise  the  inference  is  plainly 
deducible  that  while  in  the  opinion  of  Congress,  the  people  of 
a  state  may  be  too  disloyal  to  be  entitled  to  representation, 
they  may,  nevertheless,  have  an  equally  potent  voice  with 
other  states  in  amending  the  Constitution,  upon  which  so  em- 
inently depends  the  stability,  prosperity  and  very  existence  of 
the  nation.^' 

In  his  first  message,  in  April,  1865,  Gov.  Brownlow,  had 
said  that  he  was  satisfied  from  long  experience  in  the  South 
it  was  "  impossible  for  the  negroes  and  the  whites  to  live 
together  as  social  or  political  equals,^'  and  that  all  legislation 
concerning  the  negro  should  look  forward  to  a  peaceful  sepa- 
ration of  the  two  races,  but  no  sort  of  conviction  or  principle 
could  resist  the  force  of  hatred  to  *' disloyalists  and  traitors'^ 
and  the  fascinations  of  office.  To  these  he  yielded  every- 
thing. 

This  same  Legislature, — that  elected  in  March,  1865,  on 
the  plan  of  the  ''general  ticket,'^— again  assembled  on  the  2d 
of  November,  1866.  One  of  the  earliest  acts  of  this  session 
provided,  ''In  all  trials  in  civil  or  criminal  cases  .  .  . 
it  shall  be  a  good  ground  of  challenge  as  to  competency  of 
any  juror,  that  such  juror  is  not  a  qualified  voter  in  this 
state.'^  To  be  a  juror  under  this  law  implied  that  a  man 
must  take  the  oath  prescribed.  Thus  the  non-voter  could  not 
enter  the  temple  of  justice  as  a  part  of  the  judicial  machin- 
ery. The  judges  at  this  time  were  almost,  if  not  entirely, 
appointees   of  Governor   Johnson    or  Governor   Brownlow, 


190  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

and  it  was  thus  that  the  large  majority  of  Tenuesseeans  were 
to  be  further  degraded  by  hostile  legislation. 

There  was  one  other  step  to  take  on  the  subject  of  the 
Elective  Franchise.  This  act  bears  date  February  25,  1867, 
and  is  entitled  "  An  Act  to  alter  and  amend  the  Act  of  May 
3d,  1866/'  It  admits  the  negro  to  the  rights  of  the  ballot-box, 
and  makes  the  exclusion  of  '^rebels  and  rebel  sympathizers" 
still  more  rigid.  The  oath  prescribed  to  be  taken  is  relieved 
of  some  of  the  former's  redundancy,  is  neater,  and  is  to 
be  in  addition  to  the  evidence  of  two  witnesses.  It  is  as 
follows : 

''  I  do  most  solemnly  swear  that  I  have  never  voluntarily 
borne  arms  against  the  Government  of  the  United  States  for 
the  purpose  of,  or  with  the  intention  of,  aiding  the  late  rebel- 
lion, nor  have  I,  with  any  such  intention,  at  any  time,  given 
aid,  comfort,  counsel  or  encouragement  to  said  rebellion,  or  of 
any  act  of  hostility  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 
I  further  swear,  that  I  have  never  sought  or  accepted  any 
office,  either  civil  or  military,  or  attempted  to  exercise  the 
functions  of  any  office,  either  civil  or  military,  under  the 
authority  or  pretended  authority  of  the  so-called  Confederate 
States  of  America,  or  of  any  insurrectionary  state  hostile  or 
opposed  to  the  authority  of  the  United  States  Government, 
with  intent  and  desire  to  aid  said  rebellion,  and  that  I  have 
never  given  a  voluntary  support  to  any  such  government  or 
authority." 

Any  one'taking  this  oath  falsely  is  declared  guilty  of  per- 
jury. Without  the  certificate  of  the  Registration  Commis- 
sioners he  is  to  vote  at  any  election  held  under  the  laws 
of  this  state.  All  certificates  issued  by  County  Court 
clerks  under  the  Act  of  June  5,  1865,  are  held  null  and 
void,  and  shall  not  be  used  in  any  future  election.  All 
candidates  for  any  official  position  shall  take  the  above  oath. 
Each  commissioner  is  to  report  to  the  Governor  when  he  has 
completed  his  registration.  When  the  Governor  has  received 
these  reports  from  the  entire  state,  he  shall  order  elections  to 
fill  all  the  vacant  offices  in  the  state,  county,  circuit  or  dis- 
trict. The  judges  and  clerks  of  elections  shall  be  selected 
and  appointed  by  the  commissioners,  instead  of  by  the  sheriffs^ 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  191 

Provision  is  also  made  for  holding  elections  in  the  United 
States  Army,  where  there  are  Tennessee  soldiers. 

The  strength  of  this  amended  law  lies  mainly  in  placing 
the  machinery  of  elections  more  completely  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  Governor.  It  was  still  further  strengthened 
by  an  Act  passed  March  8th,  1867.  Section  three  of  this 
law  annuls  the  registration  of  Davidson  County,  made 
under  the  Act  of  May  3,  1866.  Section  four  confers  upon 
the  Governor  the  power  to  set  aside  and  annul  the 
registration  in  any  county  where  he  is  satisfied  there  has  been 
fraud  or  irregularity  in  the  registration.  Section  five  makes 
it  a  misdemeanor  to  vote  or  attempt  to  vote  on  a  certificate 
thus  declared  null  and  void,  punishable  by  fine  of  not  less 
than  ten  nor  more  than  one  hundred  dollars.  This  legis- 
lation placed  it  in  the  power  of  the  Governor  to  elect  whom 
he  chose. 

As*  a  voter  the  negro  w^as  safe.  Fortunately  for  him,  he 
had  a  great  number  of  friends  from  the  North,  who  followed 
the  Federal  army  and  hung  on  its  bounty  until  the  army  dis- 
appeared. This  was  particularly  the  case  about  the  large 
cities.  To  fix  the  negro  in  the  right  line  was  suited  to  their 
genius  and  inclination.  They  were  not  long  in  finding  out 
the  love  of  the  race  for  the  mysterious  and  marvelous,  and 
their  proclivity  for  joining  secret  societies.  They  organized 
the  Union  League  of  America,  and  boasting  that  they  Avere  the 
friendly  liberators  of  the  negro,  they  soon  had  four-fifths  or 
more  of  the  newly-enfranchised  voters  in  their  leagues,  bound, 
as  was  generally  understood,  by  an  oath  to  vote  the  Republi- 
can ticket  at  all  elections  and  for  all  purposes  during  their 
natural  liv&s.  They  were  taught  at  their  meetings  about  the 
despicable  character  of  the  rebels  and  late  slave-owners.  In 
this  way  the  negro  soon  became  a  fully  cjualified  Republican 
voter.  Most  of  them  couki  conscientiously  take  the  franchise 
oath,  and  those  who  could  not — well,  they  took  it,  never- 
theless. 

The  next  step  was  the  organization  and  equipment  of  an 
army*  The  reply  of  the  Secretary  of  War  on  the  17th  of 
July,  1866,  pending  the  ratification  of  the  Fourteenth  Amend- 
ment, was  not   precisely  what  was  expected.     Nor  were  the 


192  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

"  County  Guards/'  under  the  sheriffs  displaying  great  strength 
and  activity  as  a   military   force.      On    February  20,  1867, 
a  bill  to  reorganize    and  equip    a  State   Guard    became  a 
law.     It  simply  authorized  the  Governor  to  organize,  equip 
and  call  into  active   service   a   volunteer  force,  to   be   com- 
posed of  one   or   more   regiments   from   each    Congressional 
district,  to  be  known  as  the  "  Tennessee  State  Guards,"  and 
to    be   composed  of  loyal   men  ^^  who   shall  take    and  sub- 
scribe the  oath   prescribed  in   the  Franchise  Act/'     "Any 
number  of  the  force  shall  be  subject  to  the  order  of  the  Gov- 
ernor, who  shall  be  commander-in-chief,  whenever,  in   his 
opinion,  the  safety  of   life,    property,   liberty  or  the  faitli- 
fulexecution    of    law   requires   it  to   be   organized,   armed, 
equipped,  regulated  aud  governed  by  the  Rules  and  Articles 
of  War  and  the  revised   Army  Regulations  of  the  United 
States,  as  far  as  applicable ;  and  shall  receive  pay  and  allow- 
ance according  to  grade  and   rank,  as  provided  for  in  the 
United  States  Army,  while  in  active  service,  to  be  paid  out  of 
any  money  in  the  state  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated." 
Thus  was   carte   blanche   given  to  the   Governor.     The  day 
after  the  passage  of  this  law  a  joint  resolution  was  adopted 
instructing  "  our.Senators  and  requesting  our  Representatives 
in  Congress  to  use  their  efforts  to  secure  the  quota  of  arms 
from  the  General  Government  to  which  the  state  of  Tennessee 
is   entitled   bv  litw  ;  also   to   secure  one  of  the  forts  in  the 
vicinity  of  Nashville  as  an  arsenal  for  the  depository  of  the 
aforesaid  arms."     Before  adjournment,  sine  die,  a  joint  reso- 
lution was  adopted  requesting  the  Governor  "  to  apply  to  the 
United  States,  through  General  Thomas,  the  commander  of 
the  department,  for  a  sufficient  force  of  United  States  soldiers 
to  keep  the  peace  and  restore  order  and  quiet  in  our  state." 
The  request  was  duly  made  on  March   1st,  the  day  of  the 
adoption  of  the  resolution.     General  Thomas,  whose  head- 
quarters were  at  Louisville,  replied,  on  the  7th  of  March,  that 
Tennessee  had  been  declared  by  proclamation  of  the  President 
to  be  no  longer  in  rebellion;  that  United  States  troops  could 
be  used  only  in  aid  of  the  civil  authority,  and  could  not  as- 
sume control  of  citizens   by  virtue  of  military  orders;  that 
troops  would  be  so  furnished  on  application ;  and  that  the  na- 


EECOXSTRUCTIOX  IN  TENNESSEE.  193 

tore  of  the  disorder  requiring  the  force  should  be  stated,  and 
the  authorities  to  whom  they  were  to  report  be  particularly 
designated,  when  the  application  was  made. 

All  this  preparation  with  a  view  to  the  elections  to  take 
place  on  the  1st  day  of  August,  for  Governor,  a  new  Legisla- 
ture entire,  and  a  new  delegation  to  Congress.  The  Ten- 
nessee "  radicals  ''  had  already  taken  sides  with  the  extremists 
in  Congress,  and  against  the  administration  in  their  continued 
struggle.  A  number  of  the  leading  men  refusing  to  go  to 
the  extremes  of  their  fellow  Unionists,  had  organized  a  con- 
servative Union  party,  composed  of  those  who  remained 
^'  loyal "  throughout  the  war,  but  deprecated  the  persecution 
of  their  fellow-citizens  who  went  with  the  South.  The  radi- 
cals calling  themselves  Republicans,  held  their  nominating 
Gubernatorial  Convention  at  Nashville,  on  the  22d  of  Febru- 
ary 1867,  two  days  after  the  passage  of  the  law  conferring 
the  right  of  suffrage  upon  the  negro.  This  convention  nom- 
inated by  acclamation  Wm.  G.  Brownlow  for  re-election. 
Their  resolutions  among  other  things  endorsed  the  course  of 
the  radical  majority  in  Congress  ;  endorsed  the  administra- 
tion of  Governor  Brownlow,  and  the  convention  declared 
itself  '^  ashamed  of  the  unprincipled  adopted  son  of  Tennessee 
now  President  of  the  United  States  for  his  deception  and 
degeneracy,  and  will  endorse  any  action  of  Congress  that  will 
legitimately  deprive  him  of  continued  power.'' 

In  responding  to  the  resolutions,  the  Governor  with  a 
modesty  truly  surprising,  said  that  though  contrary  to  his 
wishes  he  accepted  the  re-nomination. 

At  the  adjournment  of  the  Legislature  twenty-four  of  its 
members  opposed  to  the  extreme  course  of  the  large 
majority,  united  in  a  call  for  a  Conservative  Union  State  Con- 
vention, to  be  held  at  Nashville,  on  the  16th  of  April.  This 
convention  met  and  adopted  resolutions  declaring  their  adher- 
ence to  the  Union  under  the  Constitution  ;  their  desire  for 
peace  and  civil  law,  and  legislation  giving  equal  and  exact 
justice  lo  all,  exclusive  privileges  to  none,  in  favor  of  the 
immediate  restoration  of  their  disfranchised  fellow-citizens  to 
all  the  rights,  privileges  and  immunities  of  full  and  complete 
citizenship  ;    recognizing  in  full  the  rights  of  the  '^  colored 

13 


194  WHY  THE  solid  south? 

fellow-citizen ;  '^  opposing  the  repudiation  of  the  national 
debt ;  denouncing  the  establishment  of  a  large  army  in  a 
state  in  time  of  peace  as  a  flagrant  and  dangerous  encroach- 
ment upon  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  citizen,  heavily 
oppressive  to  the  tax-payer,  and  evidently  designed  to  overawe 
voters  at  the  ballot-box ;  and  cordially  approving  the  efforts 
of  the  President  in  defending  the  Constitution,  preserving  the 
Union,  and  maintaining  the  supremacy  of  the  laws.  This 
assemblage  nominated  Hon.  Emerson  Etheridge  for  Governor. 

The  Conservative  and  Radical  negroes,  moved  by  the  white 
influences  by  which  they  were  respectively  swayed,  both  held 
conventions  at  Nashville;  the  one  declaring  for  "the  true 
Union  Conservatives  of  Tennessee,"  the  other  for  the  Repub- 
licans, and  Brownlow  for  Governor.  The  former  movement 
amounted  to  little  or  nothing,  the  "  Leagues  "  having  already 
not  alone  established  the  party  relations  of  the  negro,  but  fast- 
ened them  with  an  oath,  administered  with  all  the  awful  im- 
pressiveness  of  semi-darkness  and  mysterious  ceremonials.  In 
the  beginning  of  the  year  1867,  the  physical  condition  of 
Tennessee  was  good.  The  preceding  year  had  passed  off  in 
comparative  quiet.  The  waste  and  desolation  of  war  were 
rapidly  disappearing.  The  crops  of  two  years;  the  indus- 
trious replacing  of  destroyed  fences;  the  repair  and  re- 
newal of  farm  machinery;  the  care  and  multiplication  of 
farm  animals,  had  altogether  changed  the  face  of  the  state 
from  what  it  was  two  years  before  ;  and  exhibited  a  power  of 
recuperation  only  possible  to  a  generous  soil  and  an  industri- 
ous population. 

The  reasons  for  the  Governor's  congratulations  on  the  peace- 
ful condition  of  public  affairs  in  July,  1866,  had  continued. 
There  was  no  occasion,  therefore,  for  the  additional  franchise 
legislation  by  the  last  session  of  the  Legislature,  nor  for  the 
law  authorizing  a  standing  army  at  this  time.  There  had  not 
been  a  "  rebel  "  of  respectable  position  at  home,  no  matter 
what  his  rank  or  want  of  rank  in  the  army,  nor  a  *'  rebel 
aider,  sympathizer  or  abettor  "  of  standing  as  an  honorable 
man  in  his  community  or  neighborhood,  who  had  in  these  two 
years  either  by  himself  or  by  combination  with  others,  in  any 
way  undertaken  to  overthrow  the  existing  state  government; 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  195 

or  in  any  way  obstruct  its  orderly  administration.  There  were 
local  acts  of  violence  in  various  parts  of  the  state,  as  they 
now  occur  in  this  and  all  other  states.  The  allcirations  of 
such  a  state  of  disorder  as  to  justify  the  organization  of  a  mili- 
tary force  were  without  justification.  The  County  Guard  law 
in  the  hands  of  the  sheriffs^  was  amply  sufficient  to  preserve 
order  in  all  parts  of  the  state.  But  for  other  purposes  than 
the  public  welfare,  these  measures  were  devised  and  enacted 
into  law. 

The  majority  of  the  people,  that  portion  against  whom  all 
this  persecution  was  leveled,  had  borne  it,  if  not  in  silence,  in 
patience.  They  were  deprived  of  the  ballot,  by  law,  and 
bowed  in  obedience  to  that  law,  however  unjust  and  galling  it 
appeared  to  them.  They  had  taken  no  conspicuous  part  in 
public  affairs ;  were  not  active  in  public  political  conventions 
to  make  nominations;  but  demeaned  themselves  as  a  class 
having  no  political  power,  with  a  reserve  and  moderation, 
which,  under  the  circumstances,  must  go  on  record  as  remark- 
able. But  it  cannot  be  said  that  these  people,  most  of  them 
born  on  the  soil  of  Tennessee,  and  all  of  them  identified  with 
it  by  the  attachments  of  association,  family  and  home,  w^ere 
too  dull  to  comprehend  the  full  extent  of  the  wrong  and  in- 
justice imposed  upon  them,  or  too  craven  to  express  their  sense 
of  them  in  temperate  speech  on  proper  occasions.  They  could 
not  be  blind  to  the  fact  that  their  good  faith  and  law-abiding 
conduct,  instead  of  improving  their  political  condition,  in  each 
succeeding  year,  increased  the  severity  of  their  exclusion  from 
a  voice  in  public  affairs.  Their  property  was  taxed  to  pay 
the  instruments  of  their  oppression,  and  they  were  denied  any 
voice  whatever  in  the  matter.  A  manly  and  open  expression 
of  their  feelings  at  the  gross  wrong  was  neither  discreditable 
to  themselves  nor  seditious  nor  rebellious  toward  the  State. 
The  statutes  were  full  of  laws  for  the  adequate  punishment 
of  every  crime  or  misdemeanor  involved  in  the  charges  made 
by  the  Governor,  and  made  the  ground  for  all  this  military 
preparation. 

The  Governor  began  at  once  to  organize  the  State  Guards 
under  the  Act  of  February  20th.  The  canvass  for  Governor 
was  to  open  some  time  in  May,  and  according  to  a  Tennessee 


196  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

custom  almost  immemorial,  woiikl  involve  a  joint  canvass  of 
the  state  and  discussion  of  the  issues  by  the  opposing  candi- 
dates. The  chief  duties  of  the  Guards  would  be  to  appear 
in  military  array  at  various  places  of  public  speaking,  under 
pretense  of  protecting  the  Republicans  from  ^'  rebel''  assaults, 
and  in  the  freedom  of  speech.  On  the  6th  of  March,  Wm. 
G.  Brownlow,  now  acting  as  Governor,  candidate  for  re-elec- 
tion and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Tennessee  State 
Guards,  began  work  by  issuing  Order  No.  1.  This  order 
called  for  the  enlistment  of  troops  to  serve  for  a  period  of 
three  years,  unless  sooner  discharged.  To  effect  this  enlist- 
ment he  commissioned  certain  persons  as  captains,  and  author- 
ized each  of  them  to  enlist  one  hundred  able-bodied  men, 
who,  when  enrolled,  should  elect  their  other  officers,  who  were 
to  be  commissioned  when  the  cajHain  should  certify  the  same. 
Twenty-five  of  each  company  were  to  be  mounted  to  act  as 
scouts,  etc.  Every  officer  and  private  was  to  take  an  oath, 
set  out  in  full  in  the  order,  before  entering  the  service. 
Discipline  was  enjoined,  and  trespassing  upon  private  pro- 
perty prohibited.  Under  these  captains'  commissions  twelv^e 
companies  were  organized  and  the  command  of  the  force 
turned  over  to  General  Jos.  A.  Cooper  in  a  subsequent  order, 
in  which  the  Commander-in-Chief  is  pleased  to  say,  that, 
**  while  he  has  no  difficulty  in  raising  companies,  there  will 
not  be  called  into  active  service  more  than  twelve  or  fourteen 
companies,  all  told,  unless  the  rebellious  conduct  of  the  peo- 
ple make  it  necessary  to  increase  the  force."  ''  The  length 
of  time  this  force  will  be  continued  in  the  service,"  he  said, 
"  will  depend  altogether  on  the  conduct  of  the  people." 

General  Cooper  was  one  of  the  defeated  candidates  for  Con- 
gress in  1865,  in  the  Knoxville  district,  represented  by  May- 
nard.  His  ability  was  commensurate  with  the  character  and 
extent  of  his  command,  and  the  object  to  be  obtained  by  his 
campaigns.  The  actual  service  of  the  troops  consisted 
mainly  in  going  from  place  to  place  in  the  state  and  show- 
ing themselves,  the  infantry  traveling  on  railroads,  and  reach- 
ing no  other  points  than  they  were  thus  enabled  to  reach  ; 
while  the  horsemen  took  care  of  interior  seats  of  radical 
weakness. 


EECONSTEUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  I97 

Upon  the  whole,  tlieir  conduct  and  bearing  were  quite  as 
good  as  could,  under  the  circumstances,  be  expected. 

They  were  charged  with  unnecessarily  shooting  only  a  few 
citizens,  and  for  these  came  in  with  pleas  of  full  justification. 
They  engaged  in  broils  sometimes  that  did  not  lead  to  blood- 
shed. One  of  the  notable  triumphs  of  this  heroic  service  was 
the  riding  a  too  free  spoken  citizen  on  a  rail.  It  was  alleged 
that  they  extended  their  jurisdiction  to  a  case  of  domestic  in- 
felicity, and  ordered  a  divorce  from  the  bonds  of  matrimony. 
But  the  crimes  committed  by  these  licensed  disturbers  of 
the  public-repose  w^ere  not  nearly  so  many  or  so  flagrant  as 
might  have  been  expected. 

Governor  Browmlow  was  afflicted  with  a  nervous  disease,  a 
kind  of  palsy,  which  prevented  easy  locomotion,  and  from 
this  cause  he  was  prevented  ^from  making  a  canvass  of  the 
state  with  his  competitor.  He,  therefore,  issued  an  address 
to  the  people,  which  he  procured  to  be  published  in  many  of 
the  most  widely  circulated  papers  in  Tennessee.  This  address 
was  a  review  of  the  events  of  the  past  two  years,  and  a  de- 
fense of  his  administration  and  of  all  the  radical  legislation 
by  the  General  Assembly.  Little  or  no  attention  was  paid  to 
state  economies  and  the  extravagant  expenditure  of  the  public 
moneys,  and  the  issue  of  additional  bonds  was  ignored. 

In  his  canvass  for  Congress  in  1865,  Etheridge  had  ex- 
pressed in  strong  terms  a  very  decided  opinion  of  the  irregu- 
larities attending  the  inauguration  of  the  State  Government, 
and  also  concerning  the  authority  of  Mr.  Lincoln  to  set  the 
slaves  free  by  a  stroke  of  his  pen.  Indeed  so  pronounced 
were  these  opinions  and  their  expression,  that  a  squad  of 
Federal  soldiers  was  sent  from  the  military  post  at  Colum- 
bus, Ky.,  to  arrest  and  convey  him  out  of  the  state  ;  thus  re- 
lieving him  from  a  continuance  of  his  labors  in  the  political 
harvest  of  that  year.  His  nomination  as  the  competitor  of 
Governor  Brownlow,  was  a  step  by  "the  enemy,^'  which  the 
Governor  construed  into  a  purpose  to  precipitate  a  conflict 
upon  him,  which  would  inevitably  lead  to  scenes  of  turbu- 
lence and  bloodshed.  In  this  address  he  was  particular  to 
say  he  would  allow  the  greatest  freedom  of  speech,  even  to 
the   severest  criticism  of  himself  and  his  public   acts,  and 


198  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

those  of  bis  party  friends ;  but  he  concliidecl  in  empliasizcd 
letters,  "  I  do  not  consider  it  the  duty  of  the  State  Guards  to 
stand  quietly  by  and  hear  men  excite  the  mob  spirit  by  de- 
nouncing the  Federal  and  State  Governments,  counseling  re- 
sistence  to  the  courts  and  setting  aside  their  decisions  by  mob 
violence.'^ 

This  allusion  to  the  decisions  of  the  courts,  referred  to 
a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state,  delivered  on  the 
Third  day  of  May  declaring  the  constitutional  validity 
of  the  Franchise  Law  of  May  3,  1866,  (Ridley  vs.  Sher- 
brook,  3  Cold.  56,  from  Rutherford  County.)  Any  viola- 
tion of  this  law  or  that  of  February  25,  1867,  amend- 
ing it,  by  imj^roper  registration  or  voting  would  accord- 
ingly be  ^'  resistance  to  the  courts  and  setting  aside  their 
decisions." 

With  this  address  and  the  registration  machinery  in  his 
hands  with  power  to  correct  any  mistake,  the  Governor  was 
content  to  remain  at  his  home  in  Knoxville,  where  he  had  re- 
tired after  the  final  adjournment  of  the  Legislature,  until  his 
duties  again  called  liim  to  the  Capital. 

The  election  passed  off  throughout  the  state  without  not- 
able disturbances  anywhere.  Brownlow  received  74,484  votes, 
Etheridge  22,548 ;  total,  97,032 ;  majority  for  Browlow, 
51,936.  The  Senate  was  unanimously  radical,  and  the  House 
contained  but  a  half  dozen  Conservatives,  with  12  of  the  Sen- 
ators and  28  Representatives  that  were  members  of  the  last 
General  Assembly.  The  entire  Congressional  delegation  was 
radical,  as  follows  :  R.  R.  Butler,  Horace  INlaynard,  Wm.  B. 
Stokes,  James  Mullins,  Jno.  Trimble,  Sam'l  M.  Arnell,  Isaac 
R.  Hawkins  and  David  A.  Nunn.  There  was  now  certainly 
no  cause  for  furtlier  apprehension  or  distrust,  nor  further  want 
of  assurance  of  power  on  the  part  of  the  radical  administra- 
tion. 

In  1867,  one  Alden  who  had  drifted  to  Nashville  in  times 
of  commotion,  and  become  Commissioner  of  Registration, 
had  himself,  by  the  aid  of  Governor  Brownlow's  militia, 
elected  to  the  Mayoralty,  his  opponent  withdrawing  from  the 
contest  under  protest. 

The  Mayor,  of  course,  brought  with  him  to  the  city  ad- 


KECOXSTRUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  I99 

ministration  a  council  that  could  be  relied  on  to  carry  out 
his  wishes  and  plans,  and  the  chief  offices  were  filled  by  men 
of  his  o^vn  type — strangers  to  the  people  and  utterly 
indifferent  to  their  interest  or  welfare.  This  band  of 
freebooters  seized  the  treasury  with  an  avidity  difficult  to 
describe,  and  used  it  with  a  greed,  only  to  be  compared  to 
hungry  hogs  at  a  flowing  swill.  No  old  resident  was  allowed 
to  fill  any  position  which  involved  the  handling  of  money 
in  important  suras. 

Public  taxes  were  collected,  but  their  amount  was  no  guide 
to  the  expenditures.  These  were  on  a  scale  of  magnificent 
liberality.  The  Mayor  and  the  cabal  of  official  friends  he 
had  gathered  around  hini,  soon  came  to  be  designated  by  the 
public  as  the  "Alden  E-ing,"  wdiose  style  of  living  became 
suddenly  grand  and  imposing.  When  the  treasury  was  not 
supplied  with  currency  by  the  tax-payers,  checks  were  drav/n 
in  the  name,  often,  of  fictitious  persons,  payable  to  bearer, 
and  sold  to  the  street  shaver  of  notes  for  any  price  they  would 
bring.  These  checks  were  issued,  in  many  cases,  without 
consideration.  As  they  multiplied,  and  the  likelihood  of 
payment  decreased,  the  market  quotations  for  them  de- 
clined. Bonds  were  also  issued,  and  when  checks  did  not 
serve,  bonds  were  substituted. 

The  extent  of  the  peculation  and  inexcusable  waste  of 
the  public  money  during  the  year-and-three-quarters  they 
held  sway,  will  never  be  fully  or  accurately  known.  The 
present  Recorder  (1890)  estimates  the  amount  still  unpaid 
and  ascribable  to  the  ''ring  administration^'  consumption  and 
waste,  at  §700,000. 

The  second  election  of  Alden,  1868,  w^as  scarcely  to  be 
called  an  expression  of  popular  will.  He  selected  the  mem- 
bers of  both  branches  of  the  Council ;  and  his  second  year 
became  more  intolerable  than  the  first.  It  was  cumulative  in 
its  oppressiveness,  and  a  helpless  public  foresaw  a  catastrophe 
when  the  day  of  reckoning  should  come.  A  Taxpayers'  As- 
sociation was  organized,  and  methods  and  measures  of  relief 
discussed  in  their  meetings.  Halls  were  secured  and  people 
were  incited  to  hear  speeches  by  able  and  fearless  men,  expo- 
sing the  enormity  of  the   situation ;  and  the  city   was   soon 


200  ^VIIY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

in  a  glowing  heat  of  indignation.  Finally,  ajiplication  was 
made  to  the  Chancery  Court,  at  Nashville,  on  grounds 
deemed  tenable,  for  relief  That  tribunal  interposed  by  sus- 
pending the  functions  of  the  Mayor  and  placing  the  gene- 
ral management  of  affairs  in  the  hands  of  a  Receiver,  about 
the  hrst  of  July,  18G9.  John  M.  Bass,  a  man  univer- 
sally known  and  esteemed,  and  eminently  competent,  was 
made  Receiver. 

Three  months  after  this  juridico-angelic  visit,  the  "  Alden 
ring'^  had  dissolved.  The  cohesion  of  public  plunder  was 
sadly  lacking.  The  members  of  that  cabal  of  plunderers  had 
packed  their  carpet-bags,  shaken  the  plentiful  dust  of  Nash- 
ville from  their  feet  and  departed  for  other  fields  of  enter- 
prise. At  the  succeeding  election  the  administration  fell  into 
the  hands  of  a  merchant  and  leading  business  man,  K.  J. 
Morris,  as  Mayor,  and  a  council  containing  the  names  of  men 
whose  faces  w^ere  familiar  in  business  walks,  and  whose  char- 
acter for  integrity  was  established.  The  task  of  restoring 
affairs  to  order  and  regularity,  was  Herculean.  The  un- 
authorized checks,  so  far  as  known,  were  litigated  ;  but  at 
last  the  city  was  forced  to  pay  every  evidence  of  debt  issued 
in  its  name  by  the  "Alden  ring,"  and  the  costs  of  litigation 
through  the  Courts  of  the  state  was  money  only  thrown  after 
that  already  gone.  Such  was  the  illustrated  working  of  the 
"Franchise  Machine"  under  favorable  conditions. 

The  Legislature  elected  in  August  met  on  the  7th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1867. 

The  power  given  by  the  last  Legislature  to  annul  registra- 
tions, and  remove  and  appoint  Commissioners,  had  been 
freely  used  both  before  and  after  the  last  election  by  the 
Governor,  wiio  in  this  way,  as  in  1865,  revised  the  popular 
vote,  and  decided  what  registrations  had  been  irregular  or 
fraudulent.  But  the  surreptitious  manner  of  its  passage,  it 
having  been  sandwiched  into  a  bill  about  homesteads,  bills  of 
costs,  natural  born  children,  etc.,  had  excited  so  much  criti- 
cism that  the  present  Assembly  enacted  a  law,  defining  the 
powers  of  the  Governor  in  all  these  matters,  and  confirming 
all  acts,  proclamations  of  annulment,  removals  and  ,appoint- 
ments  made  by  him  since  the  8th  of  March,  1867,  whether 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  201 

justified  by  the  sections  above  referred  to  or  not.  Tliis  re- 
lieved the  Governor  from  any  hesitation  in  the  free  use  of 
this  power. 

An  act  was  also  passed  vesting  in  Commissioners  of  Regis- 
tration the  power  to  hold  all  elections,  required  to  be  held  by 
sheriffs. 

On  the  31st  of  January,  1868,  it  was  enacted,  that  there- 
after "  there  shall  be  no  disqualification  for  holding  office,  or 
sitting  on  juries,  on  account  of  race  or  color;  ^'  thus  obliterat- 
ing the  last  mark  of  the  old  fetters,  and  discharging  obligations 
for  partisan  services.  Another  act  was  passed  on  the  12th  of 
March,  forbidding  common  carriers,  railroads,  steamboats, 
street  railroads  and  all  other  common  carriers  to  make  any 
distinction  in  regard  to  color,  race,  or  previous  condition  of 
any  person  or  persons  asking  at  their  hands  conveyance  or 
any  other  service  rendered  by  them. 

In  its  wisdom  the  Legislature  gave  the  Governor  control  of 
the  legal  advertising  patronage  of  the  state,  authorizing  him 
to  designate  in  every  Congressional  District,  such  newspapers 
as  in  his  judgment  the  public  interest  might  require,  in 
which  all  legal  advertisements  should  be  published.  If  no 
paper  was  designated  in  any  county,  then  the  notice  should 
be  published  in  the  nearest  county  where  there  was  a  paper  de- 
signated, the  appointment  of  newspapers  to  be  confirmed  by 
the  Senate. 

Another  safeguard  throwm  around  the  qualified  voter,  was 
a  provision  that  ['  no  person  shall  be  allowed  to  make  con- 
tracts with  work  hands  or  others  in  their  employ,  that  will,  or 
is  intended  to  keep  them  from  going  to  the  polls  on  election 
days  " — nor  shall  it  be  a  violation  of  contract  to  leave  work 
and  go  to  elections. 

An  additional  means  of  strengthening  the  arm  of  the 
Governor  was  an  act  passed  February  1st,  1868,  to  amend  the 
law  authorizing  County  Guards  to  be  raised  by  sheriffs.  This 
new  law  provided  that  a  sheriff,  instead  of  being  restricted  to 
his  own  county  in  raising  his  force  ^'  may  recruit  said  county 
Guards  by  the  employment  of  any  of  the  loyal  citizens  of  this 
state  ;  that  the  County  Court  shall  not  have  power  to  disband 
these  Guards  unless  the  order  for  the  same  is  endorsed  by  the 


202  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

Judo-e  and  Attorney -General  of  the  circuit  in  which  the 
county  may  be  situated ;  that  the  wages  of  these  men  shall  be 
paid  by  the  county  on  the  certificate  of  the  sheriff;  that  if  the 
County  Court  fail  or  refuse  to  make  sufficient  appropriation, 
the  sheriff  shall  notify  the  Governor  of  sucli  faihire,  who 
shall  send  an  assessor  of  his  own  appointing  to  levy  and  col- 
lect the  necessary  amount  to  pay  said  Guards,  and  to  continue 
them  three  months  longer,  from  the  tax-payers  of  the  county; 
and  the  assessor  shall  be  allowed  six  dollars  per  day  for  his 
services,  to  be  levied  and  collected  as  part  of  the  expenses  of 
the  Guards;  that  the  assessor  shall  have  the  powers  of 
sheriff  and  assessor,  have  command  of  the  Guards  when 
deemed  necessary,  and  shall  levy  upon  real  estate  alone;  that 
upon  failure  to  sell  property  distrained  by  him  for  want  of 
bidders,  he  may  offer  the  property  in  any  county  in  the  state; 
that  the  proceedings  of  sale  shall  be  returned  to  the  Circuit 
Courts  of  the  counties  in  which  the  land  lies,  and  in  which 
the  sale  is  made,  each  of  which  shall  enter  judgments  of  con- 
demnation; and  the  proceedings,  if  regular,  shall  be  deemed 
valid  and  sufficient  to  convey  title."  The  law  further  pro- 
vides that  the  sheriff  shall  have,  in  addition  to  his  other  fees 
of  office,  the  pay  of  captain  of  infantry,  according  to  United 
States  army  regulations,  and  if  he  thinks  proper  to  have  as 
many  as  fifty  men,  he  may  have  one  deputy  who  shall  be  en- 
titled to  the  pay  of  a  lieutenant  of  infantry;  that  if  any 
sheriff  fails  or  refuses  to  make  arrests  of  offenders,  or  is  un- 
able to  provide  himself  with  the  necessary  County  Guards  for 
the  preservation  of  law  and  order,  upon  the  certificate  of  such 
fact  by  the  Judge  and  Attorney-General  of  the  circuit  in 
which  the  county  is  situated,  or  upon  the  affidavit  of  two 
known  loyal  citizens  of  the  state,  "  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
Governor,  forthwith,  by  his  executive  order,  to  organize  and 
establish  a  sufficient  county  police  in  such  county  to  arrest 
offenders  and  preserve  the  peace,"  and  for  this  purpose  the 
powers  are  conferred  on  the  members  enumerated  in  a  law 
establishing  a  Metropolitan  Police  District ;  that  the  authority 
of  the  county  police  shall  be  co-extensive  with  the  county; 
but  they  may  pursue  and  arrest  offenders  in  any  part  of  the 
state ;  that  they  shall  be  paid  in  the  same  manner  as  the 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  203 

County  Guards  ;  that  the  Governor  may  increase  or  diminish 
the  number  of  officers  and  members  of  such  police  at  his  dis- 
cretion ;  that  they  shall  serve  all  processes  for  the  arrest  of 
offenders  ;  that  this  force  may  be  disbanded  by  the  concurrent 
order  of  the  Governor  and  the  presiding  Judge  and  Attorney- 
General  of  the  circuit.  The  law  further  provides  '^that  the 
Governor  shall  have  power  in  his  discretion  in  cases  of  ap- 
prehended outbreak  on  public  occasions,  or  of  anticipated  re- 
sistance to  the  laws  by  combination  of  large  numbers  of  per- 
sons, to  order  the  establishment  of  a  Special  County  Police,  to 
be  commanded  by  such  persons  as  he  may  appoint,''  and  such 
force  shall  be  paid  as  the  County  Guards. 

By  this  and  previous  laws  the  Governor  was  panoplied 
with  powers  to  call  out  the  State  Guards ;  to  summon  the 
County  Guards,  or  the  County  Police  at  his  discretion.  The 
reasons  for  all  these  devices  to  uphold  the  authority  of  the 
Governor,  and  to  enlarge  his  powers  to  the  verge  of  auto- 
cratic, do  not  distinctly  appear.  The  Governor  was  grow- 
ing vain  on  account  of  his  triumphs,  and  ambitious  for  fur- 
ther promotion.  This  continued  noise  and  pantomime 
of  war  was  probably  an  expedient  to  divert  popular  atten- 
tion from  other  crimes  against  the  public  welfare. 

The  Legislature,  during  this  session,  elected  Governor 
Brownlow  to  the  United  States  Senate  for  the  term  com- 
mencing March  4,  1869.  It  also  passed  resolutions  re- 
questing then  Representatives  in  Congress  to  vote  for  articles 
of  impeachment  against  "  acting  President  Andrew  Johnson  " ; 
congratulating  the  country  on  the  reinstatement  of  E.  M. 
Stanton  to  the'^office  of  Secretary  of  War  contrary  to  the 
President's  wishes  ;  demanding  an  additional  member  of  Con- 
gress, on  the  ground  of  the  addition  of  40,000  enfranchised 
freedmen  since  the  apportionment ;  and  adjourned  on  the  16th 
of  March  to  November  9,  1868. 

During  this  interval  a  new  source  of  irritation  and  trouble 
sprang  up.  On  the  14th  of  June,  Hon.  Samuel  M.  Arnell, 
of  Maury  County,  wrote  Governor  Brownlow  that  "the 
Ku-kliix  searched  the  train  for  me  last  night,  pistols  and  rope 
in  hand."  The  Governor  at  once  notified  General  Thomas 
of  Arnell's  complaint,  saying  that  it  was  in  keeping  with 


204  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

what  was  going  on  in  other  parts  of  Middle  and  West  Ten- 
nessee, and  asking  him  to  furnish  a  company  of  troops  for 
Marshall  and  Lincoln  jointly,  and  one  each  for  the  counties 
of  Obion,  Dyer  and  Gibson. 

General  Thomas  replied  that  Tennessee  was  in  full  exer- 
cise of  the  functions  of  a  state  ;  that  the  military  can  only 
be  used  to  aid  and  sustain  the  civil  authorities ;  that  he 
had  already  furnished  him  all  the  troops  he  could  si)are ; 
and  declined  to  send  the  companies  requested.  General 
Thomas  afterwards  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  certain  laws 
passed  by  the  last  Legislature  gave  the  sheriffs  of  counties 
and  the  Governor  of  the  state  ample  powers  to  cope  with  these 
disorders. 

In  this  condition  of  affairs  the  Governor  resorted  to  an 
extra  session  of  the  General  Assembly.     He  never  seemed  so 
happy  or  so  confident  of  spirit  as  when  he  had  the  representa- 
tives of  the  people  around  him  at  the  state  capitol.     He  Sum- 
moned them  to  meet  on  the  27th  of  July.     In  his  message  he 
recounted  in  general  terms  the  depredations  of  the  Ku-klux 
Klan,  and  called  upon  the  members  to  speak  and  vote  as  they 
themselves  and  their  constituents  had  spoken  in  private  letters 
and  petitions  calling  for  the  militia  to  protect  them  in  their 
persons  and  property.     He  said  he  had  been  applied  to  by 
prominent  men  of  both  political  parties  to  urge  the  ])ropriety 
of  removing  the  political  disabilities  now  imposed  by  law 
upon   a  large  body  of  the  people.     This  he  cleclined  to  do 
saying  :  '^  They  have  a  military  organization  in  this  state  whose 
avowed  object  is  to  trample  the  laws  under  foot,  and  to  force 
the  party  in  power  to  enfranchise  themselves  and  their  sym- 
pathizers.    I  cannot  yield  to  this  request,  accompanied  with 
threats  of  violence.     If  members  of  the  General  Assembly 
are  alarmed  for  their  personal  safety,  and  feel  disposed  to  sue 
for  peace  upon   the  terms  proposed  by  an  armed  mob,  they 
will  of  course,  take  a  different  view  of  the  subject.    Any  recom- 
mendation of  this  kind,  if  made  at  all,  should  be  at  a  regular, 
and  not  a  called  meeting  of  your  body.     And  whether  such 
recommendation  and  corresponding  action  thereupon  shall  be 
deemed  wise  at  your  next  adjourned  meeting  in  November 
next,  can  then  be  safely  determined  by  strictly  observing  the 


EECOXSTRUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  205 

conduct  of  these   unreconstructed  Ku-klux  rebels  and  their 
sympathizing  supporters,  between  this  time  and  that.''   , 

As  soon  as  the  Legislature  was  ready  for  business,  many 
petitions  for  the  repeal  of  the  franchise  law  were  presented — one 
of  them  by  Judge  Shackleford,  of  the  Supreme  Court,  signed 
by  nearly  4,000  citizens.    On  the  1st  of  August,  B.  F.  Cheat- 
ham, !N^.  B.   Forest,  Wm.  B.   Bate,  Jno.  C.   Brown,  Jos.   B. 
Palmer,  Thomas  B.  Smith,  Bushrod  R.   Johnson,  Gideon  J. 
Pillow,  Wm.   A.   Quarles,  S.   R.  Anderson,  G.   G.   Dibrell, 
George  Maney  and  Geo.  W.   Gordon,  all  military  officers  of 
high  rank  in   the   late  Confederacy,  met  at  the  capitol  and 
framed  a  memorial  expressing  deep  solicitude  for  the  peace 
and  quiet  of  the  state ;  protesting  against  the  charge  of  hostility 
to  the  state  government  or  a  desire  for  its  overthrow  by  revo- 
lutionary  or   lawless   means  ;    or  that  those  who  had   been 
associated  with  them  in   the  past  days  contemplate  any  such 
rashness  or  folly ;  nor  did  they  believe  there  is  in  Tennessee 
any  organization,  public  or  secret,  wdiich  has  such  a  purpose ; 
and  if  there  be,  they  had   neither  sympathy  nor  affiliation 
therewith.     They  believ^ed  the  peace  of   the   state  did  not 
require  a  military  organization  ;  that  such  a  measure  might 
bring  about  and  promote  collisions,  rather  than  conserve  the 
harmony  and  good  order  of  society ;  pledged  themselves  to 
maintain  the  order  and   peace  of   the  state  with  wdiatever 
influence  they  possessed,  to  uphold  and  support  the  laws  and 
aid  the  constituted  authorities  in  their  execution,  trusting  that 
a  reciprocation  of  these  sentiments  will  produce  the  enactment 
of  such   laws  as  will  remove  all  irritating  causes  disturbing 
society.     '^For,"  they  continued,  "when   it  is  remembered 
that  the  large  mass  of  white  men  in  Tennessee  are  denied  the 
right  to  vote  or  to  hold  office,  it  is  not  w^onderful  or  unnatural 
there  should  exist  more  or  less  dissatisfaction   among  them. 
And  we  beg  leave  respectfully  to  submit  to  your  consideration 
that  prompt  and  efficient  action  on  the  part  of  the  proper 
authorities,  for  the  removal  of  the  political  disabilities  resting 
upon  so  many  of  our  people,  would  heal  all  the  wounds  of  our 
state,  and  make  us  once   more  a  prosperous,  contented  and 
united  people." 

While  these  petitions  were  still  before  the  Assembly,  Gov- 


206  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

ernor  Brownlow  sent  in  a  special  message,  accompanied  by  a 
letter  and  draft  of  an  "  ordinance/'  from  Judge  John  M.  Lea, 
wliich  he  was  induced,  by  his  high  regard  for  the  author  and 
his  confidence  in  his  patriotism  and  integrity,  to  submit  to 
their  deliberate  consideration.  Tiie  letter  called  upon  the 
Governor  and  the  Legislature  to  complete  the  reconstruction 
in  Tennessee  on  the  plan  set  forth  in  the  proposed  ordinance. 
This  ordinance  recited  the  general  disfranchisement,  and  dis- 
position of  the  people  of  the  state  to  acquiesce  in  the  results 
which  have  been  brought  about  by  the  late  civil  war,  and 
recommended  to  the  people,  in  the  name  of  the  General  As- 
sembly, an  amendment  to  the  State  Constitution,  conferring 
the  right  of  suffrage  upon  ^*  every  free  man,  white  or  colored, 
of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  being  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  and  a  citizen  of  the  county  wherein  he  may  offer  his 
vote  six  months  next  preceding  the  day  of  election."  The 
ordinance  provided  that  this  amendment  should  be  submitted 
to  a  vote  of  the  people  at  the  next  state  election,  and  that 
every  voter  in  favor  of  its  adoption,  should  write  or  print  on 
his  ticket  the  word  **  convention,'^  and  that  he  elects  and  ap- 
points as  delegates  to  said  convention  the  members  of  the 
present  General  Assembly."  If  a  majority  of  the  people 
vote  ''convention,"  it  implied  they  favored  this  amendment, 
and  the  General  .Assembly,  thus  constituted  a  constitutional 
convention  for  the  purpose,  was  to  incorporate  it  into  the  or- 
ganic law  of  the  state  without  further  action  on  the  part  of 
the  people.  A  debate  followed  which  developed  decided  op- 
position to  entertaining  the  subject  at  this  session,  and  the 
whole  matter  was  laid  on  the  table. 

While  the  Legislature  was  in  session,  and  before  final  action 
had  been  taken  on  the  matters  under  consideration,  a  conven- 
tion of  extreme  radicals  was  held  at  Nashville,  which  {)assed 
a  series  of  resolutions,  endorsing  the  course  of  Governor 
Brownlow,  especially  in  calling  the  present  extra  session  for 
the  purpose  of  ''  protecting  defenseless  loyal  men  from  the 
wanton  violence  of  Ku-klux  banditti  and  others,  aided  and 
encouraged  by  wealthy  rebels ;  "  opposing  the  repeal  of  the 
franchise  law ;  calling  upon  the  Legislature  to  pass  an  effi- 
cient military  bill  that  will  enable  the  Governor  to  meet  any 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  207 

emergency,  and  declaring  that  wherever  the  military  was  re- 
quired its  costs  should,  if  found  practicable,  be  borne  by  the 
tax-payers  of  the  county. 

Pending  the  consideration  of  the  military  bill,  petitions 
against  its  passage  were  presented  from  all  quarters.  The 
Senate  and  House  disagreed  on  the  measure  proposed  by  the 
Military  Committee,  the  result  being  the  reenactment  of  the 
law  of  1867,  with  amendments.  The  Governor  was  authorized 
to  organize,  equip  and  call  into  active  service  a  volunteer 
force  to  be  composed  of  loyal  men,  who  should  take  and  sub- 
scribe an  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  and  of  this  state,  to  be  known  as  the  "  Tennessee  State 
Guards.'^  In  addition  to  the  provisions  of  former  laws,  this 
authorized  the  Governor  to  declare  martial  law  in  any  county 
whenever  the  Judge  and  Attorney  General  of  the  district 
wherein  the  county  lay,  and  the  Senator  and  Kepresentatives 
and  ten  Union  men  of  good  moral  character  shall  represent 
that  "the  laws  cannot  be  enforced,  and  the  good  citizens  of 
that  county  or  counties  cannot  be  protected  in  their  just 
rights,  on  account  of  rebellion  or  insurrection,  or  the  opposi- 
tion of  the  people  to  the  enforcement  of  law  and  order  ;'^  he 
was  authorized  to  quarter  troops  on  such  counties ;  and  was 
made  his  duty  to  assess  and  collect  a  sufficient  amount  for  the 
full  payment  of  State  Guards  so  employed  out  of  such  county 
or  counties,  in  the  manner  provided  in  the  Act  of  February 
1st,  1868.  It  also  required  the  Governor  to  furnish  a  num- 
ber of  troops  necessary  for  the  purpose,  upon  application  and 
sworn  statement  of  ten  or  more  unconditional  Union  men  of 
good  moral  character,  or  three  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  any 
county,  that  the  civil  laws  cannot  be  enforced  without  the  aid 
of  the  military  authorities. 

As  a  measure  of  further  precaution,  a  committee  of  three 
was  authorized  by  joint  resolution  to  proceed  to  Washington 
and  lay  before  the  President  the  condition  of  affairs,  and  to 
"urge  him  to  take  steps  to  give  protection  to  the  law-abiding 
citizens  of  the  state.'^ 

This  committee  set  out  at  once,  and  presented  an  address  to 
the  President  giving  a  statement  of  the  operations  of  the  Ku- 
Klux  Klan,  which,  it  claimed,  on  the  alleged  authority  of 


208  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

General  Forrest,  nimibered  forty  thousand  members  in  Ten- 
nessee alone,  and  urged  upon  him  to  send  a  sufficient  Federal 
force  to  the  state  "  to  aid  the  civil  authorities,  to  act  with  them 
in  suppressing  these  wrongs  and  bringing  the  guilty  parties 
to  trial,  giving  assurance  that  all  the  laws  will  be  enforced, 
crime  punished,  and  protection  extended  to  such  officers  and 
citizens  as  may  attempt  to  execute  laws  or  prosecute  further 
violation/^  The  committee  returned  with  assurances  from 
General  Schofield,  Secretary  of  War,  that  such  dispositions 
would  be  made  as  to  meet  the  emergency,  and  that  the  power 
of  the  United  States  would  be  employed  ''wherever  and  so 
far  as  it  may  be  necessary  to  protect  the  Civil  Government 
of  Tennessee  against  lawless  violence  and  to  enable  the  Gov- 
ernment to  execute  the  laws  of  that  state  and  protect  its  law- 
abiding  citizens." 

Before  adjournment  a  law  to  preserve  the  public  peace  was 
framed  and  passed.  It  denounces  a  fine  of  nol  less  than  $500, 
imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  not  less  than  five  years,  and 
renders  infamous  any  person  who  shall  unite  with,  associate  with, 
promote  or  encourage  any  secret  organization  of  persons  who 
shall  prowl  through  the  country  or  towns  of  this  state,  by  day  or 
night,  disguised  or  otherwise,  for  the  purpose  of  disturbing  the 
peace,  or  alarming  the  peaceable  citizens  of  any  portion  of  the 
state;  the  same  upon  a  person  summoned  as  a  witness,  who  fails 
or  refuses  to  obey  the  summons,  or  shall  appearand  refuse  to 
testify;  the  same  upon  any  prosecuting  attorney  who  has  been 
informed  of  a  violation  of  this  Act,  and  fails  or  refuses  to  prose- 
cute the  person  informed  on,  and  in  addition  his  name  shall  be 
stricken  from  the  roll  of  attorneys  ;  the  same  upon  any  officer, 
clerk,  sheriff  or  constable  who  fails  or  refuses  to  perform  any  of 
the  duties  imposed  by  this  Act;  the  same  upon  any  officer  or 
other  person  who  shall  inform  any  other  person  that  he  or  she  is 
to  be  summoned  as  a  witness,  with  the  intent  of  de- 
feating any  of  the  provisions  of  this  or  any  other  criminal 
law  of  this  state ;  the  same  upon  any  one  who  shall  write, 
publish,  advise,  entreat  privately  or  publicly  any  individual 
or  class  of  persons  to  resist  any  of  the  laws  of  the  state ;  the 
same  upon  any  person  who  shall  make  threats  with  the  in- 
tention of  intimidating  or  preventing  any  elector  or  person 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  209 

authorized  to  exercise  the  elective  franchise  ;  the  same  upon 
any  one  who  shall  attempt  to  break  up  any  election  in  this 
state ;  the  same  upon  any  one  who  shall  feed,  lodge  or  enter- 
tain or  conceal  in  the  woods  or  elsewhere,  any  one  known  to 
such  person  to  be  charged  with  any  offence  under  this  Act. 
The  law  further  provides,  that  no  prosecutor  shall  be  required 
on  indictments,  and  no  indictment  held  insufficient  for  want 
of  form  under  this  Act;  that  where  any  sheriff  or  other  offi- 
cer shall  return  process  issued  under  this  Act,  unexecuted,  with 
an  affidavit  stating  the  reason  for  the  non-execution,  an  alias 
shall  issue  and  the  officer  shall  give  notice  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  county,  of  such  alias,  by  posting  a  notice  at  the  court- 
house door,  and  if  the  inhabitants  shall  permit  the  defendant 
to  be  or  live  in  the  county  without  arrest,  they  shall  be  sub- 
ject to  an  assessment  of  not  less  than  $500  nor  more  than 
$5,000 ;  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  this  state  shall  be  author- 
ized to  arrest  offenders  under  this  Act,  without  process;  that 
this  Act  shall  act  as  a  lien  upon  all  the  property  of  the  de- 
fendant for  fines,  costs  or  penalties  imposed,  dating  from  the 
day  or  night  of  the  commission  of  the  offence ;  that  every 
public  officer,  in  addition  to  the  oath  prescribed  by  the  Con- 
stitution, shall  swear  that  he  has  never  been  a  member  of  the 
organization  known  as  the  Ku-klux  Klau,  or  other  disguised 
body  of  men  contrary  to  law,  and  that  it  shall  be  unlawful 
for  any  person  to  publish  any  proffered  or  pretended  order  of 
such  secret  or  unlawful  clans.  The  measure  of  damages  is 
fixed  as  follows :  For  entering  the  house  or  place  of  residence 
of  any  officer  in  the  night  in  a  hostile  manner,  or  against  his 
will,  |l 0,000,  and  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  assailed  to  kill 
the  assailant;  for  killing  any  peaceable  individual  in  the 
night,  $20,000 ;  all  other  injuries  to  be  assessed  in  proportion. 
On  the  16th  of  September,  Governor  Brownlow  issued  a 
proclamation  against  the  Ku-klux  Klan,  recounting  the 
action  which  had  been  taken  by  the  Legislature,  and  calling 
upon  the  good,  loyal  and  patriotic  people,  white  and  colored, 
in  every  county  in  the  state,  without  delay,  to  raise  companies 
of  loyal  and  able-bodied  men  and  report  to  him  at  Nashville, 
declaring  his  purpose  to  use  the  force  so  collected  in  putting 
down  armed  marauders,  and  in  such  manner  as  the  exigency 
14 


210  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

demanded,  whatever  might  be  the  consequences.  This  Ku-khix 
Klan,  it  is  proper  to  observe,  was  a  mysterious  organization 
that  wore  grotesque  disguises ;  that  paraded  at  night ;  and 
that  seemed  to  liave  neither  starting-point  nor  destination. 
It  appeared  unexpectedly  and  disappeared  suddenly.  It 
never  entered  in  its  paraphernalia  the  larger  cities  or  centre, 
of  population.  Its  movements  were  entirely  on  horsebacks 
the  horses  often  with  muffled  feet,  and  with  trappings  suffi- 
cient to  conceal  their  identity  on  a  casual  view.  Their 
numbers  were  indefinite.  Sometimes  many  would  appear 
together,  at  others,  few.  No  one  was  found  to  confcvss 
that  he  knew  who  they  were,  whence  they  came,  or  whither 
they  went. 

Sixteen  years  after  this,  in  1884,  a  history  of  the  Ku- 
klux  Klan  was  published  in  Nashville,  in  which  the  fact  is 
disclosed  that  it  originated  with  a  coterie  of  young  men  in 
Pulaski,  Giles  County,  this  state,  in  May,  1866,  and  was 
designed  by  them  wholly  and  purely  for  amusement ;  that 
the  amusing  features  of  the  initiation  were  so  decided,  the 
membership  increased  so  rapidly,  that  by  1868  it  had  spread 
from  Virginia  to  Texas,  and  its  original  design  had  been 
greatly  perverted  ;  that  its  chief  officer  had  lost  control  of  its 
members  or  their  actions;  that  it  never  was  in  any  sense  a 
military  organization,  as  alleged  by  Governor  Brownlow  ;  that 
it  claimed  that  many  of  the  crimes  and  outrages  committed 
in  its  name,  were  those  of  parties  who  used  their  disguises  to 
gratify  personal  spites,  and  so  avenge  private  griefs,  and  that 
it  disbanded  in  March,  1869. 

The  excitement  usually  incident  to  a  Presidential  election 
did  not  tend  to  allay  the  feeling  engendered  by  the  constant 
and  long-continued  course  of  political  ostracism  towards  a 
majority  of  the  people  of  Tennessee,  who  were  at  the  same 
time  supporting,  by  their  toil,  the  tax  exactions  of  the  oppres- 
sor. The  election  passed  off  with  as  little  disorder  as  the 
circumstances  reasonably  permitted.  The  total  vote  polled 
was  83.068— Grant,  56,757  ;  Seymour,  26,311— a  falling  off 
of  13,964  from  the  popular  vote  in  the  Gubernatorial  election 
in  1867. 

The  Legislature  met  again  in  adjourned  session,  on  the  9th 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  211 

of  November,  1868.  The  Goveroor  in  his  message  in  refer- 
ence to  the  State  Guards,  said,  that  soon  after  the  return 
of  the  Legislative  committee  from  Washington,  General 
Thomas  had  inquired  in  \Yliat  localities  troops  were  needed; 
that  he  had  furnished  the  names  of  twenty-two  counties,  and 
Federal  troops  in  sufficient  number  had  been  sent  to  them. 
Hence  the  State  Guards  had  not  been  called  into  active 
service. 

The  most  important  measure  considered  and  passed,  was  an 
Act  on  the  23rd  of  February,  1869,  requiring  commissioners 
of  registration  in  the  various  counties  throughout  the  state, 
on  the  fourth  Thursday  in  May,  1869,  to  open  and  hold 
elections  in  their  respective  counties  for  Judges  of  the  vari- 
ous courts  of  the  state,  and  for  Attorneys-General  in  all  the 
Circuit  and  Criminal  Districts.  This  was  the  first  step  tow- 
ards restoring  the  Judiciary  to  its  former  status. 

The  Governor's  proclamation  of  September  the  16th,  call- 
ing on  the  able-bodied,  loyal  men  to  join  military  companies, 
had  not  met  ready  response.  He  followed  it  with  another 
on  the  20th  of  January,  1869,  again  calling  ^'  upon  all  good 
and  loyal  citizens  to  enter  the  ranks  of  the  State  Guards,  be 
mustered  into  service,  and  aid  in  supressing  lawlessness." 
This  had  a  better  effect.  On  the  25th  of  January,  Brigadier 
General  Joseph  A.  Cooper  issued  "General  Order  No.  1," 
dated  at  Nashville,  assuming  command  of  all  the  Tennessee 
State  forces  in  the  field.  On  the  20th  of  February  the  Gov- 
ernor issued  his  last  proclamation,  in  which  he  stated  that 
there  were  then  1,600  State  Guards  in  Nashville;  proclaimed 
martial  law  (the  effect  of  which  he  declared  was  to  set  aside 
civil  law,  and  turn  the  offenders  over  to  the  militarv,  who 
would  try  them,  and  upon  their  conviction,  dispose  of  them 
in  a  summary  manner)  in,  and  over  the  counties  of  Overton, 
Jackson,  Maury,  Giles,  Marshall,  Lawrence,  Gibson,  Madi- 
son and  Haywood  ;  and  directed  General  Cooper  "to  distrib- 
ute these  troops  at  once,  and  continue  them  in  service  until 
we  have  unmistakable  evidence  of  the  purpose  of  all  parties 
to  keep  the  peace." 

Governor  Brownlow,  having  been  elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate  for  the  term  commencing  March  4,  1869,  on 


212  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

the  25th  of  February,  retired  from  the  executive  office,  and 
the  Speaker  of  the  Senate,  D.  AV.  C.  Senter,  of  Grainger 
County,  was  duly  inaugurated.  The  Legislature  itself  ad- 
journed sine  die  on  the  11th  of  March. 

But,  for  reckless  extravagance,  for  indifference  to  the  ob- 
ject and  extent  of  expenditures,  the  Thirty-fourth  General 
Assembly  elected  by  general  ticket,  February  22,  1865,  and 
holding  until  October,  1867,  stands  without  a  peer.  As- 
suming the  half  currently  reported  and  generally  believed  to 
be  true,  the  majority  of  its  members  were  looked  upon  as 
knowing  nothing  and  caring  less  for  the  financial  condition  or 
necessities  of  the  state,  and  many  were  regarded  as  directly 
ap})roachable  corruptly  for  their  support  of  measures.  The 
state's  aid,  in  bonds,  to  railroads  and  turnpikes,  was  upon  a 
scale  of  liberality  unheard  of  All  that  seemed  to  be  re- 
quired was  the  ])resentation  of  a  measure  or  bill,  and  it  would 
go  through  without  regard  to  its  purpose  or  merit.  The  lob- 
bies of  the  Capitol  swarmed  with  persons  who  were  employed 
to  secure  legislation,  by  presenting  pecuniary  arguments  to 
members. 

Before  the  close  of  the  last  of  the  four  sessions  of  this 
Assembly,  a  moral  stench  seemed  to  rise  from  the  state 
Capitol.  Many  of  the  well  disposed  ])crsons  elected  on  the 
general  ticket,  who  were  present  in  April,  1865,  failed  to  an- 
swer to  roll-call  on  the  11th  of  March,  1867.  Of  this  class 
there  were  twelve  Senators  and  thirty-two  Representatives, 
whose  places  were  filled  by  less  worthy  men.  The  first 
elected  Comptroller  (Hackett)  seemed  to  be  entirely  incompe- 
tent and  inefficient.  Until  about  the  beginning  of  1866,  all 
business  of  the  state  was  transacted  with  a  looseness  and  a 
general  lack  of  attention  to  systematic  methods,  that  could 
not  fail  of  disastrous  results.  AVhen  a  new  Comptroller  of 
sense  and  integrity  was  found,  he  was  hampered  by  the  finan- 
cial legislation,  which,  against  his  remonstrances,  continued 
to  overwhelm  the  treasury  with  burdensome  appropriations 
and  increasing  bonded  obligations  until  December  7,  1867, 
when  it  culminated  in  numbers  of  grants  to  railroads,  known 
as  the  '^  Omnibus  Bill,"  They  were  equallv  unfortunate  in 
the  selection  of  a  treasurer  (Stanford).     His  depositary  of 


EECONSTEUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  213 

part  of  the  school  fund,  a  bank  in  Memphis,  controlled  by  a 
man  named  Rutter,  inflicted  a  loss  of  above  a  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  The  penitentiary  became  a  prey  for  private 
profit  at  the  expense  of  the  state.  The  warden,  a  carpet- 
bagger, (J.  S.  Hull)  was  suspended  by  legislative  resolution, 
for  corruption  in  office,  and  a  month  later  w^as  allowed  to  re- 
sign. An  Act  was  passed  on  the  12th  of  May,  1866,  to 
lease  the  state  prison  and  the  labor  of  the  convicts.  The  les- 
sees threw  up  the  contract  and  the  institution  continued  a 
leech  upon  the  treasury.  Many  railroads,  aided  by  the  state, 
defaulted  in  payment  of  interest,  and  were  placed  in  the 
hands  of  receivers,  who  instead  of  running  them  so  as  to  pay 
current  expenses  and  fixed  charges,  were  as  far  as  previous 
managements  from  relieving  past  obligations.  Every  interest 
of  the  state  w^as  suffering  either  through  incompetent  or  dis- 
honest agencies.  The  Thirty-fourth  General  Assembly  man- 
ifested supreme  indifference  to  everything  touching  the  state 
finances.  The  increase  of  their  own  per  diem  and  mileage  forty 
percent,  above  their  constitutional  allowance,  was  made  with- 
out hesitation.  Their  expenses  during  their  service,  with 
printing  bills  added,  amounted  to  $421,496.88.  Its  successor, 
the  Thirty-fifth  General  Assembly  for  legislative  expenses, 
including  bills  for  printing,  is  charged  with  ?338,508.37  from 
the  treasury, — the  two  "  Brownlow  Legislatures  "  aggregating 
in  "  Legislative  expenditures ''  $760,005.25.  During  the 
first  period,  from  April,  1865,  to  October,  1867,  the  Governor 
had  a  staff  about  him,  which,  together  with  the  Adjutant 
General's  office,  cost  the  state  »$31,878.62. 

The  total  expense  of  the  "  Tennessee  State  Guards " — a 
military  force  wantonly  authorized  to  be  enlisted,  and  need- 
lessly called  into  active  service — was  the  sum  of  §668,650.33. 
As  an  evidence  that  these  '^  troops  of  horse  and  foot ''  were 
unnecessary  at  the  first  call  in  1867,  it  need  only  be  stated 
that  §175,284.83  Avere  paid  out  for  state  prosecutions  that 
year ;  and  for  the  next  year,  $160,681.37.  These  facts  expose 
the  falsity  of  the  allegations  of  turbulence  and  disorder  in 
defiance  of  the  courts,  which  served  as  a  pretext  for  outrages, 
designed  for  entirely  different  ends  than  for  those  claimed. 

But  why  detail  these  items  of  extravagance  ?    It  can  be  as 


214  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

well  understood  by  saying  that,  during  this  four  and  a  half 
years  $9,024,183.70  passed  from  the  people  into  the  treasury, 
and  only  $28,649.42  remained  as  cash  balance  September 
30,  1869  ;  and  against  this  small  sum  were  $297,815.71  war- 
rants on  the  treasury  outstanding  and  unpaid,— a  deficit  of 
$269,166.29,— or  a  total  expenditure  of  $9,293,349.99  ;  thus 
showing  the  amount  expended  under  this  reign  to  be  more 
than  double  that  expended  in  the  same  length  of  time  pre- 
ceding or  subsequent. 

Besides  this  expenditure  of  current  revenues  from  taxation, 
durino:  the  carnival  of  extravag-ance,  an  additional  bonded 
debt  was  created  in  aid  of  railroads  and  turnpikes,  and 
funded  interest,  mostly  on  their  account,  of  $16,565,046.60. 
It  is  part  of  the  financial  history  of  Tennessee  that  many  of 
these  6  per  cent,  bonds  were  sold  for  ruinous  prices  varying 
from  seventeen  to  forty  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  for  green- 
backs, then  greatly  below  par. 

As  may  well  be  conceived,  the  Legislature  which  com- 
menced its  session  in  October  1869  received  a  legacy  of  debt 
which  worried  the  people  and  its  successors  for  thirteen  years 
before  it  was  settled  on  a  permanent  basis. 

Once  rid  of  Brownlow's  presence,  and  that  Legislature  not 
to  assemble  again,  unless  on  special  call  of  the  Governor,  the 
prospect  was  more  cheerful. 

A  Governor  and  Legislature  to  be  elected  in  August, 
began  early  to  occupy  public  attention.  The  Republican 
nominatino*  convention  was  called  for  the  20th  of  Mav.  The 
leading  aspirants  for  the  nomination,  were  Gov.  Senter,  the 
incumbent,  and  Col.  Wm.  B.  Stokes,  the  gentleman  who 
acted  as  substitute  from  Brownlow  in  the  canvass  with  Eth- 
ridge  in  1867.  When  the  convention  assembled  in  the  state 
capitol,  it  was  a  heterogeneous  mass  ;  a  considerable  number  of 
negroes,  who  were  quick  to  assert  their  political  rights,  and  a 
discordant  contingent  of  whites  whose  cross  purposes  and 
diverse  aims  were  unconcealed.  The  contest  was  doubtful. 
The  friends  of  each  of  the  aspirants  tried  to  control  the 
organization.  On  this  contest,  the  convention  was  irreconcil- 
able, and  split  into  two  parts.  Each  fraction  of  the  convention 
met  in  separate  places,  and  each  nominated  its  favorite.    Both 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  TENNESSEE.  215 

Seuter  and  Stokes  were  thus  made  Republican  candidates  for 
Governor.  No  one  was  put  forward  by  any  other  party.  The 
difference  between  them  consisted  of  an  issue  on  the  franchise 
question.  Gov\  Senter  declared  that  ^^  the  time  has  come  and 
is  now,  when  the  limitations  and  disabilities  which  have  found 
their  way  into  our  statute  books,  as  the  result  of  the  war 
should  be  abolished  and  removed,  and  the  privilege  of  the 
elective  franchise  restored,  and  extended  so  as  to  embrace  the 
mass  of  the  adult  population  of  the  state.'^ 

Col.  Stokes  thus  defined  his  position  :  ^'  When  the  killing 
of  Union  men  ceases,  the  hellish  organization  of  Ku-Klux 
is  disbanded,  and  the  laws  are  observed,  then  I  am  willing  to 
entertain  a  proposition  to  amend  the  state  constitution  so  far 
as  to  allow  the  disfranchised  to  come  in  gradually,  by  pro- 
viding that  the  Legislature  may,  by  a  two-thirds  vote  remove 
the  disabilities  of  those  who  petition  and  come  well  recom- 
mended by  their  loyal  neighbors.'^  This  was  the  principal 
issue  from  Carter  to  Shelby.  To  the  people  the  candidates 
appeared  as  '^  Hyperion  to  Satyr.'^ 

On  the  5th  of  August  the  ballots  showed  a  total  vote  cast 
of  175,369  ;  of  which  Gov.  Senter  received  120,333  ;  Col. 
Stokes  55,036— majority  65,  297. 

The  surprising  number  of  votes  polled  is  accounted  for 
largely  by  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  May,  State  vs. 
Staten,  6th  Cold:  235,  from  Gibson  County  declaring  uncon- 
stitutional the  Acts  of  the  Legislature  authorizing  the  execu- 
tive to  set  aside  and  annul  registration  of  voters  in  which  he 
miofht  discover  frauds  and  irreo^ularities.  This  restored  the 
franchise  to  a  very  large  number  of  voters  whose  certificates 
had  been  annulled  by  Governor  Brownlow. 

The  Legislature  elected  at  the  same  time,  containing  some 
of  the  leading  minds  of  the  state,  met  on  the  4th  of  October. 
A  constitutional  convention  was  called  by  popular  vote,  regu- 
larly authorized  by  law,  and  the  delegates  elected  on  the  18th 
of  December,  assembled  on  the  10th  of  January,  1870. 
The  state  was  now  truly  "  reconstructed.''  There  was  no 
further  disorder  :  The  troops  were  of  no  further  service  ;  and 
the  state  entered  upon  a  career  of  peace  and  prosperity  which 
has  since  been  uninterrupted. 

Ira  p.  Jones. 


I 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

RECONSTRUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA. 

T  is  fitting  tlie  story  should  begin  ^vhere  the  original  con- 
struction of  the  Old  Dominion  was  first  interfered  with. 
Its  first  part  embraces : 

I. 

DISMEMBERMENT.  THE    THREE    VIRGINIAS. 

RICHMOND.  WHEELING.  ALEXANDRIA. 

Virginia  suffered  more  than  any  other  state  during  the  war, 
because  larger  armies  subsisted  and  contended  upon  her  soil 
for  longer  })eriods,  than  upon  the  soil  of  any  other  state ; 
and  she  suffered  more  from  Reconstruction,  because  in  its 
course  her  ancient  domain  was  rent  asunder,  and  slie  lost  one- 
third  of  her  territory.  But  the  story  of  Virginia,  at  Rich- 
mond, being  inside  the  Confederate  liaes,  is  outside  the  scope 
of  this  article,  and  we  begin  therefore  with 

VIRGINIA   AT   WHEELING. 

Prior  to  1861,  various  causes  had  conspired  to  develope,  in 
certain  counties  of  north-western  Virginia,  a  public  sentiment 
touching  the  issues  between  North  and  South,  less  strongly 
southern  than  the  average  sentiment  of  the  State;  and  upon 
the  passage  of  the  ordinance  of  Secession  by  the  Richmond 
convention,  on  the  17th  of  April  of  that  year,  many  dele- 
gates from  these  counties  returned  home,  and  immediately 
began  a  vigorous  campaign  against  Secession.  Two  conven- 
tions met  in  quick  succession  at  Wheeling,  the  first  of  which, 
representing  26  counties,  on  May  13th,  before  the  date  fixed 

216^ 


RECONSTKUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA.  217 

for  the  popular  vote  upon  the  ordinance,  denounced  the  seces- 
sion proceedings  of  the  Richmond  convention  as  "  manifest 
usurpations  of  power/^  "  null  and  void/^  and  called  a  second 
convention  for  June  11th. 

Meanwhile  the  Federal  government  had  promised  its  aid, 
General  McClellan  had  crossed  the  Ohio  with  Union  troops, 
and  the  series  of  his  brilliant  successes,  which  soon  after  drove 
the  Confederate  forces  out  of  the  region,  had  begun. 

The  convention  of  June  11th,  representing  at  first  31 
counties,  afterwards  received  delegations  from  8  others.  It 
exacted  from  its  members  an  oath  to  support  the  constitution 
and  laws  of  the  United  States  (omitting  all  mention  of  those 
of  Virginia)  ^'  anything  in  the  ordinance  of  the  Richmond 
convention  .  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.^'  It  annulled 
all  the  acts  and  proceedings  of  the  Richmond  government, 
and  vacated  the  offices  of  all  officers  who  adhered  to  it.  On 
June  20th,  in  total  disregard  of  the  constitution  of  the  state, 
this  convention  elected  Francis  H.  Pierpoint,  Governor,  and 
filled  other  offices  some  of  them  not  even  authorized  bv  that 
constitution.  It  declared  the  members  of  the  Assembly 
chosen  at  the  regular  spring  elections,  and  of  course  then 
destined  for  Richmond,  and  those  elected  to  fill  the  places  of 
such  as  would  not  take  the  required  oath  to  support  the 
government  it  had  set  up,  to  be  the  true  and  lawful  Legisla- 
ture of  the  state,  and  called  it  together  at  Wheeling  on  the 
first  day  of  July.  Upon  the  recommendation  of  the  first 
Wheeling  convention,  the  congressmen  to  which  the  three 
north-western  districts  were  entitled  had  been  elected  in  May, 
and  on  July  9th,  this  legislature  elected  two  United  States 
senators. 

Both  houses  of  Congress  admitted  these  members,  as  from 
the  "State  of  Virginia,"  and  both  the  convention  and  the 
governor  were  distinct  and  emphatic  in  declaring  that  the 
entire  movement  was  one  for  the  restoration  of  the  entire 
commonwealth  to  her  place  in  the  Union — that  the  true  and 
lawful  government  of  Virginia  was  at  Wheeling  and  not  at 
Richmond — albeit  the  Wheeling  government  then  represented 
but  39  out  of  the  140  counties,  and  3  cities,  of  Virginia  en- 
titled to  representation,  and  these  39  counties  contained  but 


218  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

282,000  out  of  the  1,600,000  inhabitants  of  the  state.*  All 
this  in  a  free  republic,  based  upon  "the  consent  of  the  gov- 
erned," and  embodying  "the  rule  of  the  majority" — there 
being  at  the  time,  in  existence  and  in  full  operation,  another 
government  of  Virginia,  having  its  seat  at  the  ancient  capital 
of  the  commonwealth  and  supported  by  the  overwhelming 
majority  of  her  citizens. 

It  may  have  been  due  in  part  to  such  reflections  as  these, 
that  there  was  a  sudden  shifting  of  the  scenes.  After  a  brief 
recess,  this  same  convention,  on  the  20th  of  August,  passed 
an  ordinance  providing  for  the  formation  of  a  new  state  to  be 
called  "Kanawha,"  out  of  the  territory  of  Virginia,  and 
embracing  the  very  counties  then  represented  in  the  Wiieel- 
ing  convention  and  legislature,  and  certain  other  counties, 
Berkeley  and  Jefferson  among  them,  if  they  should  vote  to 
annex  themselves  to  the  new  state. 

Against  this  proposed  action,  Attorney-General  Bates,  the 
law  officer  of  President  Lincoln's  cabinet,  entered  a  vigorous 
protest  embodied  in  a  letter  to  a  member  of  the  Wheeling 
convention,  saying,  among  other  things:  "The  formation  of 
a  new  state  out  of  Western  Virginia  is  an  original,  indepen- 
dent act  of  revolution.  .  .  .  Any  attempt  to  carry  it  out 
involves  a  plain  breach  of  both  the  constitutions  of  Virginia 
and  of  the  nation.  And  hence  it  is  plain  that  you  cannot 
take  such  course  without  weakening,  if  not  destroying,  your 
claims  upon  the  sympathy  and  support  of  the  general  gov- 
ernment, and  without  disconcerting  the  plan  already  adopted 
both  by  Virginia  and  the  general  government,  for  the  re- 
organization of  the  revolted  states  and  the  restoration  of  the 
integrity  of  the  Union.  .  .  .  Yonr  new  governor  form- 
ally demanded  of  the  President  the  fulfillment  of  the  consti- 
tutional guarantee  in  favor  of  Virginia — Virginia  as  known 
to  our  fathers  and  to  us.  The  President  admitted  the  obliga- 
tion, and  promised  his  best  efforts  to  fulfill  it.  And  the  Senate 
admitted  your  senators,  not  as  representing  a  new  and  name- 
less state,  now  for  the  first  time  heard  of  in  history,  but  as 
representing  the  good  old  commonwealth." 

*A11  statements  as  to  population  based  upon  the  Census  of  1860. 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA.  219 

Notwithstanding  this'protest,  the  convention  not  only  passed 
the  ordinance  in  August^  but  the  people  in  October  ratified 
this  action  at  the  polls,  and  elected  a  convention  to  frame  a 
constitution  for  the  new  state.  This  convention  met  in  Xo- 
vember  and  adjourned  in  February,  putting  its  constitution  to 
popular  vote  in  April,  1862.  At  the  latter  date,  48  counties 
in  all  adhered  to  the  new  movement,  their  wdiite  population 
aggregating  some  335,000,  and  yet  there  were  not  20,000 
votes  cast  at  either  election,  that  which  created  the  new  state 
in  October,  ^61,  or  that  which  ratified  its  constitution  in  April, 
^62.  Thousands  of  voters  were  presumably  disfranchised  by 
the  oaths  required,  other  thousands  were  in  both  armies,  and 
others  still  refugees  within  the  Confederate  lines.  Of  course 
the  overwhelming  majority  of  the  votes  cast  was  in  favor  of 
both  propositions,  and  the  legislature,  meeting  in  extra  session 
on  the  6th  of  May,  on  the  13th  gave  its  consent,  as  the  legis- 
lature of  ^' Virginia,'^  to  the  formation  of  the  new  state, 
making  provisions  also  as  the  constitution  had  done,  for  the 
subsequent  admission  of  Berkeley,  Jefferson  and  other  counties. 

The  bill  for  the  admission  of  West  Virginia  passed  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  in  July,  1862,  but  there  being 
some  delay  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  Wheeling 
Legislature,  still  as  the  Legislature  of  ^^  Virginia,'^  not  only 
memorialized  the  House  to  pass  the  bill  dismembering  the 
Commonwealth  and  alienating  part  of  her  territory,  but  also 
requested  the  resignation  of  the  Hon.  John  S.  Carlisle,  who, 
as  senator  fiom  Virginia,  had  resisted  the  dismemberment  of 
his  native  state.*  On  the  31st  of  December,  1862,  the  Presi- 
dent signed  the  bill  previously  passed  by  both  houses,  requi- 
ring, however,  an  amendment  to  the  constitution  of  the 
state,  which  was  made;  and  on  the  20th  of  April,  1863,  he 
issued  his  proclamation  that,  at  the  expiration  of  sixty  days, 
West  Virginia  would  be  one  of  the  sovereign  and  co-equal 
states  of  the  American  Union.  Although  the  constitution 
of  the  state  required  the  election  of  state  officers  upon  the 
fourth  Thursday  in  October,  yet,  upon  the  fourth  Thursday 
in  May,  the  Union  (or  Republican)  state  ticket  previously 

*  Virginia  Acts  of  Assembly,  1861-1865,  "Wheeling. 


220  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

nominated  was  elected  without  opposition,  and,  upon  the  20th 
day  of  June,  1863,  the  very  day  her  statehood  and  position 
in  the  Union  became  complete,  the  government  of  West  Vir- 
ginia was  formally  inaugurated. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of  this  strange  story 
is  the  complacency  with  which  conventions,  legislatures  and 
governors,  purporting  to  represent  the  commonwealth  of 
Viro-inia.  proposed  and  consented  to  repeated  partitions  and 
transfers  of  her  territory — one  sovereignty  acting  for  every 
party  and  interest  concerned  in  the  transaction — in  turn  pro- 
moter of  the  scheme,  donor  of  the  territory,  and  recij)ient 
also.  Wheeling  Virginia,  being  but  the  alter  ego  of  West  Vir- 
ginia. And  there  seems  to  have  been  no  limit,  either  to  the 
desire  to  have  or  the  willingness  to  give.  The  AVheeling 
convention  suggested  the  creation  of  a  new  state,  to  embrace 
thirty-nine  counties  of  Virginia,  but  provided  for  the  an- 
nexation of  additional  counties;  the  West  Virginia  con- 
stitution framed  by  a  Virginia  convention,  organized  a  state 
of  forty-four  counties,  but  made  like  provision  for  further 
expansion  ;  the  act  of  Congress,  urgently  clamored  for  by 
Wheeling  Virginia,  admitted  West  Virginia  with  forty-eight 
counties,  and  a  subsequent  act  ratified  the  annexation  of  two 
others — in  each  case  a  Virginia  convention  proposing,  a  Vir- 
ginia legislature  ratifying,  and  a  Virginia  governor  certifying 
the  result  of  the  popular  vote  and  the  transfer  of  Virginia's 
territory  to  another  state.  The  character  of  the  *' popular 
vote"  which,  in  those  days,  and  in  restored  Virginia,  and  by 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  was  considered  ade- 
quate to  set  the  great  seal  of  ratification  by  the  people,  is 
well  illustrated  in  a  statement  made  by  Mr.  Bingham,  of 
Ohio,  upon  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  in 
1862,  that  Mr.  Segar,  of  Virginia,  then  occupying  a  seat  in 
that  body  as  the  representative  of  the  Accomack  District, 
claimed  it  upon  the  basis  of  twenty-five  votes  cast  in  the  en- 
tire district,  all  of  which  he,  Mr.  Segar,  had  received,  the 
district  having  cast  nearly  two  thousand  (2000)  votes  in  the 
last  preceding  election. 

The  extent  of  the  spoliation  of  Virginia  contemplated  and 
actually  proposed  by  the  Wheeling  government,  while  still 


EECOXSTRUCTION  IN  VIRGINLi.  221 

purporting  to  represent  the  Old  Commonwealth,  is  almost  in- 
credible. Not  only  were  fifty  counties  actually  transferred  to 
and  appropriated  by  West  Virginia,  but  on  the  13th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1862,  the  Wheeling  legislature  passed  "An  act  pro- 
viding for  taking  the  sense  of  the  voters  of  Accomack  and 
Northampton,  whether  or  not  they  will  be  annexed  to  Mary- 
land,''  and  on  the  4th  of  February,  1863,  "An  act  giving 
consent  to  the  admission  of  certain  counties  into  the  new  state 
of  West  Virginia,  upon  certain  conditions,'^  the  conditions 
being  a  popular  vote  "  For  Annexation/'  etc.,  and  the  coun- 
ties being  Tazewell,  Bland,  Giles,  Craig,  Buchanan,  Wise, 
Kussell,  Scott,  Lee,  Alleghany,  Bath,  Highland,  Frederick, 
(Jefferson),  Clarke,  Loudoun,  Fairfax,  Alexandria,  Prince 
William,  Shenandoah,  Warren,  Page  and  Rockingham. 


VIRGINIA    AT   ALEXANDRIA. 

After  "  Reorganized  Virginia  "  had,  by  a  second  reorganir 
zation,  transformed  herself  into  West  Virginia,  it  might  be 
supposed  the  by-play  of  "The  Two  Virginias"  was  at  an 
end.  By  no  means.  Francis  H.  Pierpoint,  had  been  elected 
or  appointed  by  the  Wheeling  convention  in  June,  '61, 
"  Governor  of  Virginia  "  to  hold  for  six  months  or  until  his 
successor  should  be  elected  and  qualified.  Although  substanti- 
ally the  entire  territory  represented  in  and  supporting  his  ad- 
ministration had  become  another  state  and  elected  another 
governor,  yet,  as  his  government  had  purported  to  stand  for 
the  entire  commonwealth  and  been  so  recoo:nized  and  treated 
by  the  government  at  Washington,  why  might  he  continue,  if 
not  to  act,  at  least  to  pose,  as  the  governor  of  all  Virginia, 
not  transferred  to  West  Virginia?  He  determined  not  only 
to  do  this,  but  also  to  hold  title  to  his  office  by  popular  election. 
Upon  the  fourth  Thursday  in  May,  1863,  the  same  day  the 
loyal  voters  within  the  forty-eight  transferred  counties  returned 
Arthur  L.  Boreman,  governor  of  West  Virginia,  the  hand- 
ful who  cared  to  take  part  in  the  elections  held  here  and  there 
in  the  little  fringe  of  territory,  outside  these  counties,  which 
had  been  irregularly  and  occasionally  represented  in  restored 
Virginia  at  Wheeling,  returned  Francis  H.    Pierpoint,  gov- 


222  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

ernor  of  Virginia,  for  the  term  of  three  years,  beginning 
January  1st,  1864.  They  also  elected  members  of  tlie  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  and  the  new  government  of  the  new  "  Restored 
Virginia  ^^  transferred  itself  to  Alexandria.  On  the  first 
Monday  in  December,  the  governor  solemnly  called  his  Gen- 
eral Assembly  to  the  new  capital. 

The  constitution  and  proceedings  of  that  body,  indeed  of 
the  entire  administration  of  Governor  Pierpoint  at  Alexan- 
dria, present  a  travesty  upon  the  great  fundamental  principle, 
^'  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for  the  j)eo- 
ple,"  so  ludicrous  and  pitiful  as  to  be  almost  beyond  belief, 
and  we  \Yould  hesitate  to  mention  even  the  outline  facts,  were 
not  the  veritable  record  extant  in  the  official  Journal  of  the 
House  of  Delegates  at  Alexandria,  published  in  a  volume  of 
House  Journals,  1861  to  1865.  When  the  House  met  and 
the  roll  was  called  seven  delegates  responded,  representing 
five  counties,  Norfolk,  Loudoun,  Alexandria,  Northampton 
and  Prince  William.  The  body  adjourned  until  the  next 
day,  and  on  that  day  again  adjourned,  finally  organizing  on 
December  9th,  with  eight  members  in  this  the  popular  branch. 
Of  course  in  such  a  body  there  was  not  much  swing  between 
a  committee  of  one  and  a  committee  of  the  whole,  and  it  is 
amusing  to  note  how  the  same  names  occur  and  recur 
in  varying  order  upon  the  different  working  committees. 
How  many  members  then  composed  the  Senate  of  restored 
Virginia  we  have  not  been  able  to  learn.  It  is  said  the  ag- 
gregate number  of  the  Assembly  never  exceeded  16,  but 
this  baker's  dozen  appointed  committees  and  went  gravely  to 
work  as  the  legislature  of  a  sovereign  state  of  nearly  a  million 
and  a  quarter  of  inhabitants.  They  called  a  constitutional 
convention  which  met  on  the  13th  of  February,  1864,  num- 
bering exactly  sixteen  members,  and  this  representative  body 
of  Virginia  statesmen  amended  the  constitution  of  the  com- 
monwealth, by  inserting  a  provision  abolishing  slavery  and 
making  other  changes  suggested  by  the  partition  of  the  state. 

This  Alexandria  government  received  but  scant  considera- 
tion from  any  quarter.  In  the  summer  of  1864,  General 
Butler  commanding  at  Norfolk,  finding  the  officers  of  this 
government  assuming  to  exercise  their  functions  within  his 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA.  223 

lines,  and  learning  that  they  claiired  to  have  been  legally 
elected,  by  virtue  of  having  received  the  majority  of  a  total 
of  one  hundred  and  nine  votes  cast  in  the  city,  ordered  an- 
other, election  upon  the  issue  whether  the  people  of  Norfolk 
preferred  to  be  under  this  pitiful  and  powerless  concern,  or 
the  strong  and  steady  rule  of  the  military  arm.  Three  hun- 
dred and  forty-six  votes  were  cast  in  this  second  election  ; 
330  for  military  government,  and  but  16  for  poor  Pierpoint 
and  his  '^  Restored  Virginia.''  With  cruel  irony,  Butler 
issued  a  second  order  claiming  that  only  20  votes  were  cast 
in  the  first  election,  exclusiv^e  of  the  votes  of  the  45  candi- 
dates upon  the  ticket  of  each  of  the  two  political  parties, 
^'  assuming  always,''  said  he,  "  that  the  men  running  for 
office  in  a  city,  vote  for  each  other ; "  and  he  closed  with  a 
gentle  reminder  that  these  pretended  civil  officers  must  "  no 
longer  attempt  to  exercise  such  functions,  and  upon  any  pre- 
tence or  attempt  so  to  do,  the  military  commandant  at  Nor- 
folk will  see  to  it  that  the  persons  so  acting  are  stayed  and 
quieted." 

The  contemned  and  derided  Governor  of  "  Restored  Vir- 
ginia "  appealed  to  the  President  who  promised  to  interfere, 
but  the  military  authorities  held  the  field.  Finding  at  last 
that  the  protection  of  his  Alexandria  bantling  from  insult 
was  a  little  too  much  for  even  his  compliant  party  friends  at 
Washington  to  undertake,  upon  the  re-assembling  of  his 
faithful  legislatuie  in  December,  '64,  Governor  Pierpoint  re- 
lieved his  wounded  feel  in  o-s  in  a  manifesto  to  them  relatinof  all 
his  woes.  As  above  suggested,  with  regard  to  the  very 
origin  of  the  Alexandria  goverment  and  the  ordinary  conduct 
of  its  proceedings,  it  is  difficult  to  realize  that  we  are  review- 
ing the  earnest  and  practical  work  of  men  of  intelligence  and 
purpose,  the  entire  affair  savoring  rather  of  the  mock  grav- 
ity of  intentional  burlesque.  But  the  message  in  question  is 
such  a  remarkable  expression  even  of  this  very  remarkable 
administration,  that  we  ask  indulgence  for  a  somewhat  lengthy 
extract,  bearing  upon  the  conflict  with  General  Butler  above 
referred  to.  Says  the  governor  :  "  There  might  have  been  a 
number  of  counties  organized  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  state 
lying  within  the  boundaries  of  the   military  district  of  Vir- 


224  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

giiiiaand  North  Carolina,  but  for  the  hostility  of  the  military 
commauder  of  that  district  to  civil  government.  General 
Butler  commanding  that  district  combined  in  June  last  with 
a  few  persons  composed  of  *  the  worst  rebel  sympathizers  in 
Norfolk,  others  representing  a  liquor  monopoly,  army  follow- 
ers and  British  subjects,  and  at  their  request,  (or  in  his  own 
words,  they  *  informed  the  judgment  of  the  commanding 
general'),  he  overthrew  the  republican  civil  government  of 
Virginia  established  in  his  district,  and  on  its  overthrow 
erected  a  military  despotism  instead  thereof;  and  has  inaugu- 
rated a  reign  of  terror  and  torture,  a  history  of  which  would 
rival  the  darkest  chapters  of  despotism  in  the  middle  ages. 
Union  and  rebel  sympathizers  are  alike  the  objects  of  op- 
pression. Union  and  rebel  families,  are  heartlessly  turned 
out  of  their  houses  to  make  places  for  families  of  officers  of 
the  army  and  army  followers.  The  appeal  of  the  helpless 
female  and  tender  infant  are  alike  uuavailing.  He  has  seized 
the  assessor's  books  of  the  municipal  government  and  placed 
them  in  the  hands  of  the  military  for  collection,  and  taken 
the  direction  of  all  the  civil  affairs  of  the  state,  even  to  the 
establishment  of  schools.  Persons  having  taken  the  oath  of 
allegiance  under  the  President's  amnesty  proclamation,  with 
the  promise  of  full  pardon,  which  im|)lies  protection,  are 
turned  out  of  their  property,  not  for  military  but  for  specu- 
lativ^e  purposes,  to  forward  the  fortunes  of  Massachusetts 
friends,  with  the  declaration  that  he  intends  to  .serve  all  so 
when  it  suits  his  purposes. 

"  The  collectors  of  state  taxes  are  forbidden  to  proceed  with 
their  collections  or  to  pay  what  they  have  collected  into  the 
treasury  of  the  civil  government  of  the  state.  Printing- 
presses  have  been  seized  and  a  daily  newspaper  started,  which  is 
edited  by  a  captain  and  commissary  of  subsistence  who  receives 
hissalary  from  the  United  States  Government.  Twenty  or  thirty 
soldiers  are  detailed  from  the  volunteer  army  of  the  United 
States  to  print  and  peddle  the  paper  for  private  emolument. 
The  great  object  of  the  paper,  next  to  private  gain,  is  to  dis- 
parage the  loyal  sentiment  and  civil  government  of  the 
state.  There  can  be  no  question  but  that  the  military  power 
of  the  department  is  used  for  private  speculation." 


RECONSTEUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA.  225 

What  wonder  that  President  Lincoln,  in  conversation  with 
Judge  Campbell,  said  of  this  Alexandria  experiment,  ^'  I  have 
a  government  in  Virginia,  the  Pierpoint  government.  It 
has  but  a  small  margin,  and  I  am  not  disposed  to  increase  it." 

II. 

RESTORATION. 

The  people  of  the  United  States,  of  all  sections  and  par- 
ties, have  come  to  regard  it  as  alike  of  historical  and  practi- 
cal interest  to  ascertain  with  certainty  the  opinion  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  upon  every  question  affecting  the  policy  or  the 
welfare  of  tlie  country.  It  is  generally  believed  by  them 
that  at  the  close  of  the  war,  Mr.  Lincoln  favored  a  policy  of 
restoration  of  the  Southern  states,  and  especially  of  Virginia, 
to  the  Union,  with  the  least  possible  friction,  delay  or  inter- 
ference with  their  existing  organizations.  This  belief  would 
seem  to  rest  on  a  solid  basis  of  fact.  It  is  consistent  with  the 
spirit  of  his  proclamation  of  December  8,  1863,  and  his 
other  official  acts  and  public  utterances.  It  is  noticeable  also 
that,  nearly  every  historian  of  the  times  makes  some  allusion 
to  his  views  touching  peace  and  reunion,  and  most  of  them 
emphasize  his  liberal  sentiments  and  strong  yearning  for  the 
speedy  re-establishment  of  the  Union  of  the  fathers.  Henry 
Ward  Beecher,  whom  Mr.  Lincoln  styled  ^^  the  foremost 
citizen  of  the  republic,"  says,  in  the  preface  to  his  famous 
'^  Cleveland  Letters  : "  ^'  President  Lincoln  and  Governor 
Andrew,  of  Massachusetts,  in  the  last  conversation  which  I 
had  with  them,  inclined  to  the  policy  of  immediate  restora- 
tion ;  and  their  views  had  great  weight  with  me." 

During  his  brief  visit  to  Richmond,  immediately  upon  its 
occupation  by  the  Federal  forces  in  April,  1865,  the  Presi- 
dent held  two  or  three  memorable  interviews  with  Judge 
John  A.  Campbell,  formerly  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  and  later  of  the  Confederate  war  office,  and 
with  a  committee  of  citizens,  of  which  Judge  Campbell  and 
Judge  Henry  W.  Thomas,  then  Second  Auditor  of  Virginia, 
under  the  Richmond  government,  and  afterwards  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  the  state,  were  members.     Full  details  of  these 

15 


226  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

interviews  may  be  found  in  Judge  Campbell's  pamphlet,  en- 
titled "  Reminiscences  and  Documents  Relating  to  the  Civil 
AV^ar  during  the  year  1865,'^  and  in  the  September  number, 
1889,  of  the  '^Magazine  of  American  History."  The  ex- 
pressions attributed  to  Mr.  Lnicoln  in  these  narratives  are 
marked  by  that  broad  common  sense  and  hearty,  homely, 
vigor  of  expression  so  characteristic  of  him.  They  are  related  ^ 
by  gentlemen  of  the  highest  character,  and  bear  the  unmis- 
takable stamp  of  genuineness  and  truth. 

Judge  Campbell  says  that  he  tokl  him  ''he  wanted  the 
very  Legislature  which  had  been  sitting  'up  yonder' — point- 
ing to  the  capitol — to  come  together,  and  to  vote  to  restore 
Virginia  to  the  Union  and  recall  her  soldiers  from  the  Con- 
federate Army :  "  this  in  immediate  connection  and  contrast 
with  the  disparaging  remark  about  the  Alexandria  govern- 
ment above  quoted. 

Judge  Thomas'  account  is  yet  more  conclusive,  not  only  as 
his  own  draft  of  his  sworn  testimony  as  witness  in  an  import- 
ant trial,  but  because,  in  answer  to  his  suggestion  that  Gov- 
ernor Pierpoint  be  sent  down  to  Richmond,  the  President 
replied  that  he  did  not  want  him,  adding,  "The  government 
that  took  Virginia  out  is  the  government  that  should  bring 
hei  back,  and  is  the  government  that  alone  can  effect  it.  .  .  . 
They  must  come  here  to  the  very  place  they  went  out  of  the 
Union  to  come  back  ;  and  you  people  will  doubtless  all  return, 
and  we  shall  have  old  Virginia  back  again."  A  second  time, 
in  reply  to  some  modification  of  the  plan  suggested  by  Judge 
Thomas,  he  protested,  "No!  the  government  that  took  the 
state  out  must  bring  her  back."  He  asked  who  was  governor 
of  the  State  when  it  seceded  ;  said  he  wanted  him  present,  as 
well  as  Governor  Smith,  who  had  left  Richmond  but  two  days 
before;  spoke  of  the  latter  as  "Extra  Billy,"  and  added, 
making  use  of  some  such  expletive  as  "By  Jove!"  and  smi- 
ting the  table  with  his  clenched  fist,  "I  want  that  old  game 
cock  back  here."  On  the  6th  of  April  the  President  sent  up 
from  City  Point,  whither  he  had  returned,  written  authority 
to  General  Weitzel,  commanding  at  Richmond,  to  permit  the 
assembling  of  the  legislature,  and  a  formal  call  was  issued, 
signed  by  prominent  citizens  of  Virginia,  and  approved  by  the 
General  commanding. 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA.  227 

After  his  return  to  Washington,  Mr.  Tiincohi  recalled  this 
permission,  and  there  are  those  who  deny  that  he  ever  enter- 
tained the  broad  and  statesmanlike  views  so  freely  and  em- 
phatically expressed  by  him  while  in  Richmond.  They  assert 
that  his  sole  object  was  to  secure  the  withdrawal  of  the  Vir- 
ginia troops  from  the  Confederate  armies,  and  that  his  letter 
of  April  6th,  to  General  Weitzel,  limited  the  authority  of 
the  legislature  to  this  single  specific  matter.  They  forget 
that  this  letter,  in  terms,  directed  the  General  to  extend  his 
"permission"  and  "  protection"  to  the  Assembly  '^  until,  if  at 
all,  they  attempt  any  action  hostile  to  the  United  States."* 

With  better  apparent  reason,  they  insist  that  the  terms  of 
the  telegraphic' order  withdrawing  the  authority  for  the  legis- 
lature to  assemble  clearly  exclude  the  idea  that  any  authority 
was  ever  given  or  contemplated  to  do  anything  beyond  the 
mere  recall  of  the  Virginia  troops.  Those  who  attribute  such 
conclusiv^e  weight  to  the  mere  phraseology  of  this  order  are 
either  ignorant  of,  or  overlook,  or  underrate,  the  part  taken 
in  the  preparation  of  the  telegram  by  the  most  powerful  per- 
sonality about  Mr.  Lincoln,  the  great  War  Secretary,  iron- 
willed  and  iron-hearted.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  General 
Grant  attributes  the  entire  responsibility  for  this  order  of 
recall  to  Secretary  Stanton,  who  he  says  "  always  did  in  war 
time  what  he  wanted  to  do.'^f  '^  What  he  wanted  to  do  " 
upon  this  particular  occasion  and  in  this  particular  matter  is 
rendered  perfectly  clear  by  his  own  testimony  in  the  '^Impeach- 
ment Investigation,"  and  when  that  testimony  is  read  in  the 
light  of  the  circumstances  surrounding  the  witness  at  the 
time  it  was  given, — notwithstanding  some  superficial  con- 
trarieties— it  is  equally  clear  what  Mr.  Lincoln  wanted  to  do, 
and  would  probably  yet  have  done,  if  he  had  lived.  Looking/ 
backward,  near  the  close  of  his  tremendous  life,  Edwin  M. 
Stanton  said  of  Abraham  Lincoln — *'  If  he  had  lived  he 
would  have  had  a  hard  time  w^ith  his  party,  as  he  would  have 
been  at  odds  with  it  on  Reconstruction."!  One  cannot  banish 

*  Report  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Conduct  of  the  War,  Second  Session, 
38th  Congress,  Part  I.,  1864-65,  pages  521-523;  Gen.  Weitzel's  testimony, 
t  Grant's  Memoirs,  2d  vol.  p.  506. 
X  McCulloch's  "  Men  and  Measures  of  Half  a  Century,"  p.  402. 


228  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

the  conviction  that,  "  if  he  had  lived,"  the  tender  patriot 
heart  of  Lincoln  would  have  had  a  harder  time  with  Stanton 
than  with  any  other  man  of  his  party. 

When  he  gave  the  testimony  referred  to,  Secretary  Stanton 
had  not  come  to  an  open  rupture  with  President  Johnson, 
but  it  was  well  understood  they  had  differed  upon  several 
important  measures,  and  were  irreconcilably  at  variance  with 
regard  especially  to  lleconstruction,  which  was,  just  then 
(May  18th,  1867)  the  subject  of  the  greatest  excitement  in 
Congress  and  throughout  the  country.  Mr.  Stanton  was  re- 
cognized as  the  strongest  man  and  the  ])robable  future  leader 
of  the  radical  wing  of  the  Republican  party,  and  was  of  course 
not  very  anxious  that  President  Jolinson's  friends  upon  the 
committee  should  make  good  their  main  defense,  which  was 
that  President  Johnson  was  simply  carrying  out  the  policy  of 
President  Lincoln.  And  yet  he  testitied  tliat  "  The  policy  of 
undertaking  to  restore  the  government  through  the  medium 
of  the  rebel  organizations  was  .  .  .  strongly  and  vehe- 
mently opposed  by  myself," — while  he  admitted  Mr.  Lincoln 
favored  this  policy — that  he  ''  had  several  earnest  conversa- 
tions with  him  upon  the  subject, '^  the  Attorney-General  aiding 
the  Secretary  .in  the  last  conference,  just  before  the  telegram 
to  Weitzel  recalling  tlie  permission  for  the  Legislature  to 
assemble  was  sent — that  that  telegram  was  prepared  at  his 
suggestion,  in  his  presence,  and  under  his  correction — that 
even  "  after  the  surrender  of  Lee's  army  and  the  virtual  sup- 
pression of  the  rebellion,"  Mr.  Lincoln  still  adhered  to  his 
idea  or  plan  which  ^'included  an  organization  preliminarily 
through  the  medium  of  the  rebel  legislatures  "  and  that  at  the 
last  Cabinet  meeting  he  ever  attended,  which  was  after  the 
sending  of  the  telegram  to  Weitzel,  ^'  the  President  seemed  to 
be  laboring  under  the  impression  that  there  must  be  some 
starting  point  in  the  reorganization,  and  that  it  could  only  be 
through  the  agency  of  the  rebel  organizations  then  existing, 
but  which  I  did  not  deem  to  be  at  all  necessary.  That  night 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  murdered,"  When  reminded  that  he  had 
said  he  did  ^'  not  think  Mr.  Lincoln  had  finally  matured  any 
plan  wdiich  he  had  determined  positively  to  carry  out  at  the 
time  of  his  death,"  he  answered,  ^'  When  I  say  that,  I  mean 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN"  VIRGINIA.  229 

he  never  expressed  any  to  ine.  He  made  a  speech  a  day  or 
two  before  his  death,  but  I  do  not  remember  whether  he 
indicated  anything  as  to  a  plan  of  organization."'*' 

It  is  passing  strange  Mr.  Stanton  should  have  been  so 
ignorant  as  to  the  character  and  contents  of  that  speech.  One 
of  the  biographers  of  the  martyred  President  says  of  it :  "  On 
the  evening  of  Tuesday,  April  11th,  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
serenaded  and  the  general  expectation  of  a  somewhat  elabor- 
ate speech,  giving  a  definite  foreshadowing  of  his  future 
policy  in  regard  to  the  rebel  states,  attracted  a  very  large 
gathering  of  the  people.  The  remarks  he  designed  to  make 
on  this  occasion  were  carefully  written  out,  and  will  be  ever 
memorable  as  the  final  words  of  political  counsel  which  he 
has  left  as  a  legacy  to  his  country." 

The  speech  is  a  distinct  recognition  of  the  attack  already 
begun  upon  him  because  of  his  liberal  reconstruction  policy, 
and  it  is  as  distinct  an  outlining  and  defense  of  that  policy  as 
was  then  practicable ; — distinct  to  this  extent  at  least,  that  it 
indicates  a  readiness  to  recognize  that  government  in  a  state 
which  will  soonest  bring  that  state  into  ''  proper  practical  re- 
lation" to  the  Union,  and  it  indicates  also  that  the  recognition 
of  negro  suffrage  by  a  state  is  not  regarded  as  a  sine  qua  non 
to  the  existence  of  such  "  proper  practical  relation."  It 
further  discloses  a  view  as  to  the  eflpect  of  secession  upon  the 
life  and  sovereignty  of  the  ^'  seceded  states,  so  called,"  and 
their  relations  to  the  Union,  widely  differing  from  that  upon 
Avhich  the  Reconstruction  Acts  were  subsequently  based.  We 
make  a  single  extract. — "  We  all  agree  that  the  seceded  states, 
so  called,  are  out  of  their  proper  practical  relation  with  the 
Union,  and  that  the  sole  object  of  the  government,  civil  and 
military,  in  regard  to  those  states,  is  to  again  get  them  into 
that  proper  practical  relation.  I  believe  it  is  not  only  pos- 
sible, but  in  fact  easier  to  do  this  without  deciding,  or  even 
considering,  whether  these  states  have  ever  been  out  of  the 
Union.  Finding  themselves  safely  at  home,  it  would  be 
utterly  immaterial  whether  they  had  ever  been  abroad.  Let 
us  all  join  in  doing  the  acts  necessary  to  restoring  the  proper 
practical  relations   between   these  states  and  the  Union,  and 

*  Reports  of  Committees  1st  Session,  40th  Congress,  1867,  pp.  395-405. 


230  WPIY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

each  forever  after  innocently  indulge  his  own  opinion  wliether, 
in  doino;  the  acts,  he  brou(]jht  the  states  from  without  into  the 
Union,  or  only  gave  them  proper  assistance,  they  never  hav- 
ing been  out  of  it."  * 

Was  ever  paragraph  penned  more  full  of  feeling,  of  prac- 
tical sense,  of  patriotism,  of  statesmanship?  Great  head, 
great  heart !  how  many  years  of  happy  reunited  life  did  the 
nation  lose  by  his  death  ? 

III. 

REORGANIZATION. 

From  '61  to  '65  the  government  of  Virginia,  at  Richmond, 
undoubtedly  received  the  loyal  and  hearty  support  of  the 
overwhelming  majority  of  the  citizens  of  the  commonwealth. 
When,  in  April,  '65,  it  became  evident  that  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy was  a  dream  never  to  be  realized,  that  government, 
under  a  liberal  and  conciliatory  ])olicy  at  Washington,  could 
and  would  have  united  and  led  the  people  of  the  state,  as  no 
other  government  could,  in  restoring  Virginia  to  her  place  in 
the  Union.  This  had  been  Mr.  Lincoln's  idea.  Whether  or 
not  it  would  have  been  revived  and  realized  if  he  had  lived 
no  one  can  say,  but  there  was  certainly  no  suggestion  of  such 
revival,  from  any  quarter,  after  his  death.  That  fearful  shock 
for  a  time  paralyzed  North  and  South  alike. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  1861,  however,  President  Johnson 
issued  executive  orders  annulling  all  the  acts  and  proceedings 
of  the  Confederate  and  State  governments  at  Richmond,  and 
recognizing  the  Pierpoint  government  as  the  true  and 
lawful  government  of  Virginia.  But  even  in  advance  of 
this,  the  inexorable  logic  of  events  had  been  fully  recognized 
by  the  people  of  the  state,  and,  on  the  8th  of  May,  pursuant 
to  notice,  a  large  public  meeting  was  held  in  Augusta  county, 
at  the  suggestion  and  under  the  chairmanship  and  guidance  of 
the  Hon.  A.  H.  H.  Stuart,  a  gentleman  of  the  highest  char- 
acter and  ability  and  the  ripest  culture  and  experience.     The 

^  Barrett's  "  Life,  Speeches  and  Services  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  pages 

780-784. 


RECOXSTEUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA.  231 

proceedings  of  this  meeting  demonstrated  a  thorough  compre- 
hension of  the  situation,  and  a  thoroughly  practical  and 
proper  spirit  in  dealing  with  it,  on  the  part  of  the  people 
generally  as  well  as  of  their  leaders.  It  culminated  in  a 
recommendation  for  a  state  convention,  and  the  appointment 
of  a  committee  to  ascertain  whether  the  military  authorities  at 
Richmond  would  authorize  an  election  for  that  purpose.  This 
meeting  was  followed  by  others  of  like  character  throughout 
the  commonwealth,  but  of  course  the  necessity  for  a  conven- 
tion was  largely  superseded  by  the  action  of  President  Johnson. 

Governor  Pierpoint  arrived  in  Richmond  on  the  23rd  of 
May,  and  it  is  said  the  entire  legislative  and  executive  depart- 
ments of  his  government,  and  the  archives  as  well,  were 
transported  from  the  steamer  to  the  capitol  in  an  ambulance. 
AYhether  this  report  is  true  or  not,  it  might  well  have  been. 

There  is  something  almost  grotesque  in  the  idea  of  such  a 
government,  elected  as  this  had  been,  assuming  control  of 
such  a  commonwealth  as  Virginia.  Yet  it  is  fair  to  add  that 
the  practical  wisdom  of  Governor  Pierpoint  in  holding  on 
through  snubs  and  sneers  as  the  governor  of  "Restored  Vir- 
ginia" at  Alexandria,  was  vindicated  by  the  result, — and  that 
his  administration  at  Richmond  was  in  the  main  liberal  and 
patriotic,  though  of  course  embarrassed  by  the  co-existence 
and  operation  of  the  military  control  established  by  the  United 
States ;  the  military  and  civil  authorities  both  taking  part  in 
the  reorganization  of  the  state,  the  former  exhibiting  probably 
a  little  more  consideration  for  the  latter  than  Gen.  Butler  had 
done  in  Norfolk  a  year  before.  Being  satisfied,  both  from 
information  and  experiment,  that  even  a  decent  organization 
was  impracticable  in  most  of  the  counties  of  the  common- 
wealth, without  the  repeal  of  the  disfranchising  and  disquali- 
fying clauses  of  the  Alexandria  constitution,  the  governor 
called  his  pigmy  legislature  together  in  special  session  at  Rich- 
mond, on  the  20th  of  June,  1865,  and  in  his  message  to  them, 
said  :  "  It  is  folly  to  suppose  that  a  state  could  be  governed 
under  a  republican  form  of  government,  wherein  a  large 
portion  of  the  state,  nineteen-twentieths  of  the  people,  are 
disfranchised  and  cannot  hold  office."  The  state  constitution 
fortunately  giving  the  legislature  some  control  of  this  sub- 


232  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

ject,  measures  were  promptly  passed  providing  for  partial  re- 
lief from  these  disqiialitications,  by  constitutional  anieudnient, 
to  be  submitted  to  popular  vote.     The  good  sense,  liberality 
and  patriotism  thus  displayed,  both  by  the  Governor  and  the 
Assembly,  so  far  conciliated  and    enheartened  the  people  of 
the  state  that,  on  the  12th  of  October,  elections  were  held 
generaUy  throughout  Virginia,  for  members  of  the  Assembly 
and  of  Congress,  and  upon  the  proposed  amendment  to  the  con- 
stitution which  was  adopted  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  the 
bitter  partisan  feeling  afterwards  engendered  by  the  long  agony 
and  fierce  struggles  of  reconstruction  not- being  as  yet  aroused. 
Thus  the  shackles  of  war  legislation  were  stricken  from  the 
limbs  of  her  sons,  and  the  ancient  Commonwealth  fully  or- 
ganized and  equipped  stood  ready  to  advance  and  reoccuj)yher 
old  position  in  the  American  Union  of  sovereign  and  coequal 
states.     Her  right  to  do  so  would  appear  to  have  been  un- 
assailable even  by  the  most  prejudiced  political  foe.     She  was 
ready  and  offered  herself,  with  a  government  organized  in  the 
dark  days  of  secession,  under  the  immediate  suggestion  and 
supervision   of  Federal  authority,  and    consecrated    by  tlie 
devotion  of  the  handful  of  Virginians  then  and  ever  loyal  and 
faithful  to  the  Union, — a  government  afterwards  recognized 
by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  as  the  true  and  lawful 
government  of  Virginia,  upon  whose  rightful  authority  and 
consent,  according  to  the  theory  of  Congress,  were  based  the 
division   of  the    old   Commonwealth,  the  existence  and  ad- 
mission of  West  Virginia,  and  the  transfer  and  annexation  of 
Berkeley  and  Jefferson  counties  to  that  state, — a  government 
recognized   also  by  the  executive  of  the  ^United   States,  in 
solemn  presidental   proclamation   of  its  legitimate  right, — a 
government  at  last  happily  acquiesced   in  and  supported  by 
substantially  all  the  citizens  of  Virginia. 

IV. 

DESTRUCTION. 

The  life  of  the  state  and  the  hopes  of  her  people  beat  high 
when,  upon  the  assembling  of  Congress  in  December,  18G5, 
the  duly  accredited  representatives  of  Virginia  repaired  to  the 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA.  233 

national  capitol.  Having  deposited  their  credentials  with 
the  clerk  they  took  their  seats  upon  the  floor,  l)ut,  upon  the 
preliminary  call  of  the  House,  it  appeared  that  the  clerk  had 
not  entered  the  name  of  a  single  representative  of  a  southern 
state  upon  the  roll.  There  was  no  opportunity  for  defense  or 
debate,  not  even  for  protest.  The  outrage  was  consummated 
as  soon  as  suggested.   Upon  what  ground  can  it  be  defended  ? 

Here  was  no  exclusion  of  individuals,  by  test-oath  or  for 
personal  disqualification.  The  thing  was  done  wholesale, 
and  of  necessity  upon  the  theory,  that  "  the  late  rebel  states '' 
were  not  entitled  to  representation. 

Why  ?  Was  it  that  these  states  did  not  have  a  republican 
form  of  government,  and  that  Congress  felt  bound  to  guarantee 
this  to  them  ;  or,  that  they  did  not  seem  likely  to  have  a 
republican  majority  in  elections,  and  that  Congress  felt 
anxious  to  guarantee  this  to  them  ?  From  1861-64  "  restored 
Virginia  ^Miad  been  represented  in  Congress — was  her  con- 
stitution republican  in  form  from  1861-64,  and  unrepublican 
in  1865?  And  if  so,  did  the  existence  of  test-oaths  and  dis- 
franchisements and  disqualifications  make  her  original  con- 
stitution republican,  and  the  expurgation  of  tliese  features 
make  her  amended  constitution  unrepublican  ?  Was  the 
Pierpoint  government  of  Virginia  entirely  satisfactory  while 
it  did  not  actually  represent  one  in  twenty  of  her  citizens,  and 
entirely  unsatisfactory  when  it  came  to  represent  all  of  them  ? 
Were  the  constitutions  of  the  several  northern  states,  which 
in  1865  did  not  recognize  negro  suffrage,  republican  in  form, 
and  the  constitutions  of  the  southern  states,  which  did  not 
embody  such  recognition,  unrepublican  ? 

These  are  grave  questions.  We  throw  what  light  we  may 
upon  their  solution,  by  laying  upon  the  conscience  of  an 
intelligent  and  candid  people,  one  question  more.  Would  the 
representatives  from  the  southern  states  have  been  barred 
out  of  Congress  in  1865,  if,  either  with  or  without  negro  suf- 
frage, these  states  had  been  so  organized  as  to  give  fair 
assurance  of  substantial  republican  majorities  ? 

However  this  may  be,  two  things  at  least  are  clear  :  first, 
there  was  nothing  in  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Virginia — no 
resistance  to  national  authority,  no  excitement,  no  disorder, 


234  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

no  insecurity  of  life  or  property — which  even  approximated 
to  a  justification  of  this  sudden  smothering  of  the  fresh  life 
of  the  state,  the  fresh  hopes  of  her  people ;  and  second,  this 
summary  ejection  of  her  representativ^es,  without  reason 
assigned  or  chance  to  be  heard,  did  more  to  engender  in  Vir- 
ginia a  deep  sense  of  wrong,  and  to  retard  the  return  of  good 
feeling,  than  the  entire  military  operations  of  any  one  year  of 
the  war. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  mass  of  the  people  of 
"Virginia,  having  been  honestly  and  heartily  devoted  to  the 
cause  of  the  Confederacy,  justly  felt  that  they  had  gone  very 
far  in  the  direction  of  concession  and  conciliation,  when  they 
accepted  and  "  honestly  and  cordially  sustained  "  the  Pier- 
point  government,  thus  adding  to  it  the  great  seal  of  popular 
ratification,  which  it  specially  lacked,  and  for  lack  of  which  it 
had  been  frequently  sneered  at,  even  b}''  the  extreme  leaders  of 
its  own  party.  They  felt,  too,  that  that  government  and  the 
state  organized  under  it  stood,  or  ought  to  stand,  in  an  excep- 
tionally strong  position  with  the  congress  and  government  of 
the  United  States,  as  having  furnished  not  only  the  first 
nucleus  and  ral lying-point  for  Union  sentiment  in  the  south, 
but  also  the  first  suggestion  and  model  for  Union  organiza- 
tion, as  Attorney- General  Bates  expressed  it,  "the  plan 
adopted  both  by  Virginia  and  the  general  government  for 
the  reorganization  of  the  revolted  states  and  the  restoration 
of  the  integrity  of  the  Union.''  And  they  further  felt  it  to 
be  an  utter  violation,  not  only  of  logical  and  legal  consistency, 
but  of  good  faith,  to  hold  the  Pierpoint  government,  even 
without  popular  support,  basis  sufficient  for  the  creation  and 
admission  of  West  Virginia, — and  yet,  with  popular  support 
added,  insufficient  for  the  statehood  and  admission  of  Virginia 
herself. 

V. 

RECONSTRUCTION. 

On  December  4,  1865,  the  first  day  of  the  first  session  of 
the  Thirty-ninth  Congress,  and  the  very  day  the  represen- 
tatives of  Virginia  and  of  the  other  southern  states  were  so 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA.  235 

summarily  ejected  from  the  House  of  Representatives,  Mr. 
Thaddeus  Stevens,  who  was  rapidly  forging  to  the  front  as 
the  leader  of  his  party  upon  the  floor,  introduced  his  famous 
resolution  for  the  appointment  of  the  joint  committee  of  fif- 
teen, popularly  termed  the  Reconstruction  Committee,  charged 
with  the  duty  of  inquiring  into  the  condition  of  the  southern 
states,  and  reporting  whether  any  of  them  w^ere  entitled  to 
representation  in  either  house  of  Congress ; — and,  uj^on  this 
pregnant  resolution,  the  mover  called  the  previous  question. 

Debate  being  thus  shut  off,  the  resolution  w^as  carried  by  a 
party  vote  of  133  to  36.  The  Senate  amended  by  striking  out 
a  clause  which  provided  that  no  member  should  be  admitted 
from  any  of  these  states,  until  the  report  of  the  Joint  Com- 
mittee should  be  formally  acted  on  by  Congress,  which  clause 
Senator  Doolittle  termed  '^a  dissolution  of  the  Union  by  act 
of  Congress.'^  But  even  this  fearful  feature,  little  if  at  all 
modified,  was  subsequently  passed,  as  the  battle  between 
Congress  and  the  President  grew  hotter. 

^'It  was  foreseen,"  says  Mr.  Blaine,  on  page  127  of  vol.  2 
of  his  book,  ^^  that,  in  an  especial  degree,  the  fortunes  of 
the  republican  party  would  be  in  the  keeping  of  the  fifteen 
men  who  might  be  chosen-.''  Was  it  not  foreseen,  that  the 
fortunes  of  this  great  country,  and  of  those  unfortunate 
states,  would  be  in  their  keeping  also  ?  Or,  Avere  these  con- 
siderations overlooked,  or  too  little  appreciated  to  be  pro- 
perly responded  to,  in  the  selection  of  "the  fifteen  men''? 

However  this  may  be,  the  fact  is  that  12  Republicans 
and  but  3  Democrats  were  appointed,  and  there  was  not  a 
single  Democrat  upon  the  sub-committee  wdiich  ^'did"  Vir- 
ginia. Whether  or  not  the  members  of  the  joint  committee 
"foresaw"  what  their  great  leader  did,  they  certainly  took 
care  of  "  the  fortunes  of  the  party,"  and  let  the  country 
take  care  of  itself.  Their  report  was  what  an  experienced 
and  unprejudiced  man  might  have  predicted,  and  their  bills 
also,  which,  after  long  incubation,  were  hatched  out  in  the 
spring  of  1867. 

The  character  and  contents  of  the  first  great  bill  are  wtII 
known : — its  preamble  reciting  that  no  legal  republican 
governments,  and   no  adequate  protection   for  life  or  pro- 


236  WHY  THE  SOLtD  SOUTH? 

perty  exist  in  "  the  rebel  states/' — the  degradation  of  these 
states  into  military  districts,  and  their  complete  subjection  to 
military  control, — the  rigorous  disfranchisement  of  most  of 
those  who  had  theretofore  been  prominent  and  influential  in 
the  community,  and  who  would  naturally  possess  most  of  the 
qualities  and  experience  so  imperatively  demanded  by  the 
state  in  such  a  crisis, — the  long  road  out  again  to  civil  liberty 
and  sovereign  statehood,  hedged  about  with  hard  conditions. 


BRIEF   REVIEW. 

It  may  be  well  to  go  back  a  little,  in  order  to  get  a  correct 
conception  of  the  condition  of  affairs  and  course  of  events  in 
Virginia,  and  the  changes,  if  any,  introduced  by  the  recon- 
struction acts.  From  the  day  of  the  occu[)ation  of  the  capitol 
by  the  Federal  forces,  in  April,  1865,  there  had  been  continu- 
ouslv  a  military  commandant  of  the  Department,  with  head- 
quarters at  Richmond, — one  officer  succeeding  another,  as  the 
exigencies  of  the  military  service  might  require.  Meanwhile, 
certainly  from  and  after  the  arrival  of  Governor  Pierpoint,  in 
the  latter  part  of  May,  the  operations  of  civil  government — 
state  and  municipal,  legislative,  executive  and  judicial — went 
on,  theoretically  independent  of,  but  practically  co-ordinate 
with,  or  rather  subordinate  to,  the  military.  There  was,  of 
course,  constant  fettering  and  embarrassment  of  the  civil 
government,  and  ever  and  anon  occurred  irritating  clashings 
of  the  two  powers,  interferences  by  the  military,  and  humilia- 
tions of  the  civil ;  e.  g. : — 

General  Terry,  by  military  order  of  date  January  24th, 
1866,  nullified  an  act  of  the  General  Asser-nbly  of  Virginia, 
directing  that  no  civil  officer  or  other  person  should  attempt 
to  enforce  or  apply  the  statute  in  certain  cases. 

General  Turner,  in  August,  1866,  forbade  the  organization 
of  the  Council  of  the  City  of  Richmond,  upon  the  ground 
that  certain  other  city  officers,  recently  elected,  had  been 
officers  in  the  Confederate  army  ;  and  when  the  obnoxious  per- 
sons, to  save  further  friction,  declined  to  accept  their  respec- 
tive offices,  Generals  Turner  and  Terry  still  refused  to  allow 
the  Council  to  meet,  until  it  became  absolutely  necessary,  in 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA.  237 

order  to  prepare  for  the  state  election,  and  even  then  re- 
quired the  resignation  of  certain  members  of  the  council  also. 

General  Schofield,  having  rearrested  Dr.  James  L,  Watson, 
who  had  been  arrested  and  tried  by  a  Virginia  court,  upon 
the  charge  of  murdering  a  negro,  in  Rockbridge  county,  and 
acquitted, — on  the  19th  of  December,  1866,  refused  to  obey  a 
writ  of  habeas  corpus  from  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  City  of 
Richmond,  stating  in  answer  to  the  writ,  his  intention  to  have 
Dr.  Watson  retried  for  his  life  before  a  military  court  organ- 
ized in  connection  with  the  Freedraan's  Bureau,  under  the 
fearful  powers  conferred  upon  that  institution  by  the  supple- 
mental act  of  July  16th,  1866.  In  one  aspect  it^  lightens, 
and  in  another  it  deepens,  the  shading  of  this  picture,  to  learn 
that  the  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States  prompt)  v  pro- 
nounced this  Freedman's  Bureau  court  to  be  utterly  without 
jurisdiction  in  the  premises,  and  that  Watson  was  released  by 
order  of  the  President. 

In  these  dark  days  such  wrongs  were  common,  and  in  esti- 
mating the  self-restraint,  good  sense  and  good  feeling  dis- 
played by  the  people  of  Virginia  during  the  entire  period  of 
military  control,  regard  should  be  had  to  the  repeated  exas- 
perations to  which  they  were  subjected.  One  of  the  most 
intense  and  demoralizing  of  these — not,  it  is  true,  strictly 
connected  with  reconstruction — was  the  proclamation  of  Pres- 
ident Johnson,  of  May  2d,  1865,  charging  the  late  President 
of  the  Confederacy,  and  other  gentlemen  of  character  and 
position,  with  complicity  in  the  murder  of  President  Lincoln, 
and  putting  a  price  upon  their  heads. 

The  Freedman's  Bureau,  with  the  demoralization  of  labor 
and  annoyance  to  the  employer  of  labor,  resulting  from  the 
incitement  of  vain  hopes  and  utterly  inappropriate  notions  in 
the  colored  race,  and  its  assumption  of  petty  police  as  well 
as  graver  criminal  jurisdiction,  over  both  races,  was  a  source 
of  constant  and  wide-spread  irritation.  At  this  distance  from 
the  date  and  the  fact,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  a  state  of 
things,  in  which  a  gentleman  of  age  and  position  would  feel 
compelled  to  ride,  perhaps  twenty  miles  and  back,  in  mid- 
winter, over  shociking  roads,  upon  a  most  informal  notifica- 
tion, delivered  perchance  by  the   hand    of  the  complainant 


238  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

himself,  requiring  the  defendant  to  appear  before  some  petty 
provost  marshal  or  Freedman's  Bureau  agent,  and  answer  a 
charge  of  uttering  "offensive  language,'^  say,  to  the  cowboy 
on  his  plantation.  Yet,  in  the  country  districts  of  Virginia, 
from  1865  to  1869,  sucli  experiences  were  by  no  means  un- 
usual. 

LEGISLATION   AFFECTING   FREEDMEN. 

Unfairness  in  the  legislation  of  the  southern  states,  in 
1865-66,  witii  reference  to  the  freedmen,  is  the  justification 
mainly  pleaded  for  the  harsher  terms  of  reconstruction  im- 
posed after  that  date.  The  attempt  has  been  also  made,  upon 
this  ground,  to  justify  the  refusal  of  the  House  of  Represent- 
atives to  admit  the  delegations  elected  from  the  southern 
states  to  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress.  In  the  case  of  Virginia, 
at  least,  this  attempt  utterly  fails ;  for  the  exclusion  of  her 
representatives  occurred  December  4th,  1865,  while  her 
"Vagrant  Act,''  the  only  statute  of  the  session  we  have  ever 
seen  specified  as  unfair  to  freedmen,  was  passed  January  15th, 
1866. 

Professor  Alexander  Johnston,  the  able  and  distinguished 
author  of  the  article  on  Reconstruction,  in  the  3d  volume 
of  the  Cyclopedia  of  Political  Science,  speaking  of  the  defeat 
of  the  milder  "Presidential  Plan,"  the  substitution  for  it  of 
the  harsher  "Congressional  Plan,"  and  of  the  vindication  and 
endorsement  of  the  latter  in  the  popular  elections  at  the 
North,  says:  "The  controlling  reason  will  be  found  in  the 
constant  irritation  kept  up  by  the  general  cast  of  the  legisla- 
tion in  regard  to  freedmen,  by  the  reconstructed  legislatures 
of  1865-66."  Such  a  charge,  from  such  a  source,  should  be 
squarely  met,  and  we  feel  no  hesitation  in  saying  of  this  also, 
that  It  is  baseless  so  -far  as  Virginia  Is  concerned. 

With  regard  to  the  general  criminal  legislation  of  the 
southern  states  during  this  period  and  affecting  this  class. 
Prof.  Johnston  makes  this  handsome  and  deserved  concession  : 
"  Taken  as  a  whole  and  considered  as  the  work  of  men  who 
had,  within  a  year,  been  absolute  masters  of  the  freedmen, 
and  who  had  been  dispossessed  of  their  control  by  war  and 
conquest,  it  must  be  conceded  that  it  exhibits  remarkable  self- 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA.  239 

control,  public  spirit  and  equity/'  He  also  calls  attention  to 
the  conspicuous  equity  of  the  Virginia  statute  regulating  con- 
tracts between  blacks  and  whites.  But  he  adds  a  sweeping 
condemnation  of  "  the  vagrancy  and  stay  laws  passed  by  most 
of  the  southern  legislatures.^^  The  "  stay  "  laws  in  no  way 
concerned  freedmen,  and  it  is  enough  to  say  of  the  Virginia 
stay  law,  that  after  the  expiraticm  of  the  period  fixed  by  the 
legislature  for  its  operation,  it  was  several  times  extended  by 
order  of  the  military  commander  of  the  district. 

The  "  Vagrant  Act ''  of  Virginia,  Acts  Qo-Q,  Chap.  28,  is 
the  statute  which  General  Terry  would  not  allow  to  be  euforced 
as  to  the  freedraen,  stating  the  reasons  for  his  action  in  an 
inflammatory  order  published  far  and  wide,  and  Prof.  Johnston 
not  only  endorses  Terry's  views,  but  adds  a  stricture  of  his 
own,  to  wit :  "  The  Virginia  act  declared  all  persons  vagrants 
who  .  .  .  broke  a  contract  with  an  employer,  and  in  this  case 
authorized  the  employer  to  work  the  runaway  an  additional 
month  with  ball  and  chain,  if  necessary/'  What  wonder, 
that,  by  orders  such  as  Terry's  and  statements  such  as  this, 
"  the  Northern  heart  was  ftred  against  the  South,''  and  the 
harsh  reconstruction  policy  of  Congress  endorsed  in  the  popu- 
lar elections  !  ,  Such  a  statute  would  indeed  be  monstrous, 
but  there  never  has  been  such  a  statute  in  Virginia.  Her 
people,  thank  God  !  with  all  their  faults,  have  too  strong  a 
sense  of  humanity  and  justice,  and  sound  policy,  even  to  con- 
template such  an  enactment.  Accurate  as  Prof.  Johnston 
usually  is,  he  cannot  be  pardoned  for  this  misstatement. 

The^-rs^  section  of  the  act  has  to  do  only  with  the  arrest, 
trial  and  punishment  of  vagrants — the  second  is  the  section 
which  defines  the  crime  of  vagrancy,  and  it  begins  with  these 
words  :  "  The  following  described  persons  shall  be  liable  to 
the  penalties  imposed  on  vagrants ;"  and  then  follow  five 
paragraphs  descriptive  of  five  difi'ereut  classes  of  persons. 
The  classification  is  too  long  to  quote.  Suffice  it  to  say  there 
is  not  even  the  most  remote  approximation  to  the  specification 
that  merely  breaking  a  contract  of  employment  constitutes  a 
laborer  a  vagrant.  A  glance  at  the  first  section  of  the  act 
will  explain  Prof.  Johnston's  mistake.  That  section  allowed 
the  condemned  vagrant  to  be  hired  out  by  the  proper  officers, 


240  '^^'HY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

his  wages  to  be  applied  '^  for  the  use  of  the  vagrant  or  his 
family  " — and  then  follows  this  provision  :  "  And  if  any  such 
vagrant  or  vagrants  shall,  daring  such  time  of  service,  iciihout 
sufficient  cause,  run  away  from  the  person  so  employing  him 
or  them,  he  or  they  shall  be  apprehended,  on  the  ivarrant  of 
a  justice,  and  returned  to  the  custody  of  such  hirer,  Avho 
shall  have,  free  of  any  further  hire,  the  services  of  said 
vagrant  for  one  month  in  addition  to  the  original  term  of 
hiring;  and  said  employer  shall  then  have  the  power,  if  au- 
thorized by  the  justice,  to  work  said  vagrant  confined  with 
hall  and  chain.^' 

We  have  no  desire  to  reflect  upon  General  Terry's  state, — 
indeed,  next  perhaps  to  Virginia,  or  at  least  high  upon  the 
list  of  states,  we  love  Connecticut.  But,  apropos  of  the  sug- 
gested brutality  of  *^  ball  and  chain"  put  so  prominently  for- 
ward in  comments  by  northern  men  upon  this  A^irginia  act, 
we  quote  for  the  benefit  of  General  Terry,  or  any  other  citi- 
zen of  ''  the  wooden  nutmeg  state ''  who  may  care  to  make  a 
study  of  the  comparative  civilization  of  A^irginia  and  Con- 
necticut, the  corresponding  provision  of  the  Connecticut  act, 
upon  the  same  subject  at  the  same  date.  As  in  the  case  of 
our  Virginia  statute,  we  italicize  those  clauses  which  specially 
point  the  comparison.  General  Statutes  of  Connecticut,  page 
642,  Section  72.  "  If  any  offender  shall  abscond,  escape  or 
depart  from  the  work-house,  vithout  license,  the  master  shall 
have  power  to  pursue,  retake  and  bring  him  back,  and  to 
require  all  necessary  aid  for  that  purpose,  and  when  brought 
back  the  master  may  confine  him  to  his  work  hy  fetters  or 
shackles,  or  in  such  manner  as  he  may  judge  necessary ;  or  may 
put  him  in  close  confinement  until  he  shall  submit  to  the  reg- 
ulations of  the  work-house ;  and  for  every  escape  such 
offender  shall  be  holden  to  labor  in  the  w^ork-house  for  the 
term  of  one  month,  in  addition  to  the  time  for  which  he  was 
first  committed.'^ 

General  Terry's  objections  to  the  A'^irginia  statute  were 
based  upon  the  definition  of  "vagrant,"  embodied  in  the 
second  paragraph  of  the  second  section,  wlilch  is  in  these 
words  :  "  All  persons  who,  not  having  wherewith  to  main- 
tain themselves  and  their  families,  live  idly  and  without  em- 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA.  241 

ployment,  aDd  refuse  to  work  for  the  usual  and  common 
wages  giv^en  to  the  laborers  in  the  like  work  in  the  place 
where  they  then  are."  He  makes,  substantially,  three  points, 
viz..:  1st.  Combinations  of  employei's,  to  depress  wages  be- 
low a  living  rate,  with  the  further  evil-intent  of  punishing, 
as  criminals,  freed  men  who  refuse  to  work  for  these  inade- 
quate wages,  exist  in  Virginia.  2d.  Ev^en  where  they  do 
not,  "the  temptation  to  form  them  offered  by  the  statute  will 
be  too  strong  to  be  resisted."  3d.  The  effect  of  the  statute 
will  be  to  reduce  the  freedmen  to  "a  condition  which  will  be 
slavery  in  all  but  its  name,*  ...  a  condition  of  servitude 
worse  than  that  from  which  they  have  been  emancipated." 

The  people  of  Virginia  feel  that  a  great  wrong  was  done 
them  by  General  Terry,  and  that  great  evil  followed.  It  is 
impossible  to  say  to  what  extent  their  subsequent  hard  bond- 
age in  the  reconstruction  mills  is  chargeable  to  the  wide  circu- 
lation of  his  ill-advised  and  ill-tempered  order  of  January 
24th,  1866. 

His  first  position  was  promptly  challenged  at  the  time. 
During  that  year  a  Richmond  paper  truly  and  temperately 
said  :  "  It  is  the  misfortune,  rather  than  the  fault,  of  the 
Virginia  agriculturist  that  he  cannot  offer  higher  wages  to  the 
negro.  The  want  of  capital,  the  exhausted  condition  of  the 
state  and  the  unsettled  state  of  the  country,  forbid  that 
he  should  compete  with  farmers  of  more  jirosperous  states." 
Not  only  did  poverty  explain  and  excuse  low  wages,  but,  as 
to  the  true  construction  and  intent  of  the  act,  it  would 
seem  obvious  to  any  unprejudiced  mind,  that  the  clausQ  Gen. 
Terry  took  exception  to,  viz. :  that,  in  order  to  be  held  "va- 
grants," laborers  must  "refuse  to  work  for  the  usual  and 
common  wages  given  to  other  laborers,  in  the  like  ivork,  in  the 
place  where  they  then  are,"  was  inserted  not  for  the  oppres- 
sion, but  for  the  protection  of  the  freedmen.  As  to  the  second 
and  third  points  made  in  his  order,  it  is  sufficient  to  say,  that 
although  the-  act  in  question  is  now  and  has  ever  since  con- 
tinuously been  upon  the  statute  book  of  Virginia,  the  Repub- 
lican party  having  also,  at  one  time,  had  control  of  legisla- 
tion, yet  no  one,  save  General  Terry,  has  ever  seen  in  the 
provision  above  quoted  a  cunning  and  cruel  engine  for  the 

16 


242  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

oppression  of  the  freedmen,  and  they  have  certainly  not  been 
reduced  to  slavery  by  it. 

The  sad  condition  of  the  South  at  this  crisis,  and  the  urgent 
demand  for  strong  state  legislation  to  restrain  vagrancy  and 
the  wanton  idleness  whicdi  ever  follows  war  and  sudden  eman- 
cipation, have  been  so  frequently  and  fully  set  forth,  that  we 
forbear,  merely  suggesting  the  contrast  between  the  spirit  of 
Gen.  Terry's  order,  and  that  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  proclamation 
of  December  8th,  1863,  which  pledged  the  ^'National  Execu- 
tive" in  advance,  to  be  satisfied  with  ''any  provision  which 
may  be  adopted  by  a  state  government  in  relation  to  the 
freed  people  of  such  state,  which  shall  recognize  and  declare 
their  permanent  freedom,  provide  for  their  education ^^  and 
yet  deal  appropriately  with  them  "as  a  laboring,  landless, 
homeless  class." 

The  Legislature  of  '65-6,  struck  the  key-note  of  the  entire 
work  of  the  session  as  aifecting  freedmen,  in  the  3rd  of  a 
series  of  resolutions  touching  reconstruction,  adopted  by  that 
body  and  addressed  to  the  President  of  the  United  States.  It 
is  in  these  words:  "3.  That  involuntary  servitude  except 
for  crime  is  abolished,  and  ought  not  to  be  re-established,  and 
the  negro  race  among  us  should  be  treated  with  justice, 
humanity,  and  good  faith,  and  every  means  that  the  wisdom 
of  the  legislature  can  devise  should  be  adopted  to  make  them 
useful  and  intelligent  members  of  society."  Virginia  at  this 
early  date  had  no  money  to  expend  in  education.  As  soon 
and  as  far  as  she  had,  she  did  her  full  duty,  in  this  respect 
also,  to  the  colored  people  of  the  state,  and  continues  to  do  it, 
dividing  the  public  school  fund  between  whites  and  blacks  in 
proportion  to  numbers,  the  colored  people  of  course  paying 
but  an  insignificant  proportion  of  the  taxes  from  which  the 
fund  is  derived. 

The  following  is  a  brief  summary  of  the  session's  work,  so 
far  as  it  affected  the  freedmen. 

No  law  was  passed  unjustly  discriminating  against  them. 

Laws  were  passed  to  the  following  effect,  to  wit: 

Cydminal  and  Police  Regulations. — All  laws  in  respect  to 
crimes,  punishments  and  criminal  proceedings  applicable  to 
"white  persons  were  made  applicable  to  colored  persons,  unless 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA.  243 

where  otherwise  specially  provided:  no  provisions  to  the  contrary 
are  now  recalled,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  no  important  ones 
existed. 

The  following  acts  and  parts  of  acts  were  repealed  : 

All  relating  to  slaves  and  slavery. — Chapters  107,  200,  212 
and  98  of  the  code  relating  respectively  to  free  negroes,  of- 
fenses by  negroes,  proceedings  against  negroes,  and  patrols, — 
sundry  other  minor  provisions  affecting  negroes, — and  all 
acts  and  parts  of  acts  imposing  on  negroes  the  penalty  of 
stripes,  where  the  same  penalty  is  not  imposed  on  white 
persons. 

Family  Relations. — Colored  persons  living  together,  at  the 
passage  of  the  act,  as  husband  and  wife,  even  if  not  legally 
married,  shall  be  regarded  and  treated  as  if  they  were,  and 
their  children  as  legitimate, — and  even  where  they  have 
ceased  so  to  cohabit  before  the  passage  of  this  act,  all  children 
of  the  woman  acknowledged  by  the  man  to  be  his  shall  be 
deemed  legitimate. 

Testimony. — The  testimony  of  colored  persons  shall  be  re- 
ceived in  all  cases  where  a  colored  person  is  a  party,  or  his 
rights  are  involved,  and  shall  be  taken  ore  tenus,  special  pro- 
vision being  made  for  the  court's  certifying  it  if  desired  or 
deemed  proper. 

Contracts  and  Labor. — No  contract  between  a  white  and 
colored  person  for  the  employment  of  the  latter  for  a  period 
longer  than  two  months  shall  be  binding  on  such  colored  per- 
son, unless  in  writing,  signed  and  acknowledged  by  both  par- 
ties before  an  appropriate  officer,  or  two  or  more  credible  wit- 
nesses in  the  place  where  the  white  person  resides  or  the  work 
is  to  be  done,  who  must  also  certify  that  the  contract  before 
being  acknowledged  was  read  and  explained  to  the  colored 
person. 

Now,  bearing  in  mind  that  the  negro  was  not  yet  a  voter, 
and  also  bearing  in  mind  the  magnanimous  but  very  just  and 
pertinent  reflection  of  Prof.  Johnston,  that  all  this  legislation 
was  '*  the  work  of  men  who  had,  within  a  year,  been  ab- 
solute masters  of  the  freed  men,  and  who  had  been  dispos- 
sessed of  their  control  by  war  and  conquest,^' — is  not  this 
entire  scheme  and  system  deserving  of  the  high   encomium 


244  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

pronounced  by  Prof.  Johnston  upon  a  part  of  it,  to  wit : 
that  "  it  exhibits  remarkable  self-control,  public  spirit  and 
equity.'^ 

t  We  shall  not  review  the  legislation  of  the  subsequent  ses- 
sion, because,  the  charge  against  which  we  are  endeavoring  to 
defend  Virginia,  and  the  evil  which  followed  to  her  and  her 
sister  southern  states,  is  connected  exclusively  with  the  legis- 
lation of  1865-1866.  Prof.  Johnston  says:  ''Before  Con- 
gress met  in  December  1865,  the  mass  of  legislation  above 
summarized  had  fairly  taken  shape;  and  ...  it  had  al- 
ready swung  the  whole  Republican  ])arty  into  opposition  to 
tlie  Presidential  policy."  No  exception  so  far  as  we  know 
has  ever  been  taken  to  the  legislation  of  Virginia  in 
1866-1867,  except  that,  having  abolished  slavery  and  its 
traces,  the  old  commonwealth  went  no  further  in  ratifying  the 
amendments  to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  as  they 
were  successively  proposed,  nor  until  such  ratification  was 
made  a  condition  precedent  to  the  restoration  of  her  rights. 
For  states  of  the  North,  the  ratification  of  these  provisions 
might  well  be  regarded  as  a  matter  of  course,  but  for  Virginia 
— with  slavery  and  defeat  behind,  and  disfranchisement  and 
the  fearful  mass  of  ignorant  suffrage  before — the  question 
presented  was  a  very  different  one.  Every  fair-minded  man 
will  admit  the  force  of  this  suggestion. 

THE   COURTS   UNDER   RECONSTRUCTION. 

No  department  of  the  government,  no  institntion  of  so- 
ciety, felt  the  blasting  touch  of  reconstruction  as  did  the 
courts. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  inconvenience,  embarrass- 
ment and  loss  to  the  people  of  the  state  involved,  in  the 
turning  out  of  office  of  over  a  hundred  trained  clerks  of 
coiu'ts — and  these  old  Virginia  clerks  were  a  rare  and  admir- 
able class  of  men — their  places  being  filled  for  the  most  part, 
and,  it  is  fair  to  add,  of  necessity,  by  incompetent  and  worth- 
less adventurers.  If  this  be  a  just  reflection,  what  shall  be 
said  of  the  removal  by  military  order  of  a  pure,  learned  and 
able  judiciary,  and  the  elevation  to  their  seats  of  a  set  of  men 


EECONSTKUCTIOX  IN  VIRGINIA.  245 

who,  stating  the  case  most  favorably  for  thera,  as  a 
rule  lacked  the  most  essential  requisites  for  the  efficient  dis- 
charge of  their  responsible  duties.  The  writer  has  appeared, 
in  a  Circuit  Court  of  Virginia,  before  a  bench  upon  which 
sat  a  so-called  judge,  who  had  the  day  before  been  a  clerk  in 
a  village  grocery  store,  and  who  was  not  better  fitted  for  the 
dignity  and  duty  devolved  upon  him  than  the  average  grocery 
clerk  would  be. 

It  has  well  nigh  passed  out  of  the  appreciative  recollection 
even  of  the  bar  of  the  state,  that  pages  544  to  569  of  19th 
Grattau  are  taken  up  with  the  decisions  of  the  "  Military 
Court  of  Appeals  '^  composed  of  two  soldiers  and  one 
civilian,  Major  H.  B.  Burnham,  President  of  the  Court, 
being  an  officer  of  General  Schofield's  staff.  Two  United 
States  soldiers  detailed  by  military  order  for  service  upon  the 
bench  of  the  court  of  last  resort,  in  the  state  which  gave  John 
Marshall  to  the  jurisprudence  of  the  nation  and  of  the 
w^orld  !  It  has  always  been  understood  that  the  two  military 
officers,  during  their  judicial  service,  continued  to  draw  their 
pay  as  soldiers  from  the  United  States,  while  drawing  their 
salaries  as  judges  from  the  state  of  Virginia  ;  but,  they  were 
men  of  ability  and  dignity,  and  there  was  certainly  nothing 
discreditable  in  their  bearing,  or  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duty  as  judges. 

As  above  intimated,  however,  the  average  appointee  of  the 
military  to  judicial  position  in  Virginia  was  a  prodigy  of 
ignorance  and  incompetence.  A  now  prominent  member  of 
the  Richmond  bar  vouches  for  the  absolute  accuracy  of  this 
recital.  During  reconstruction  times,  handing  some  papers 
one  day  to  the  legal  luminary  who  then  presided  over  and 
enlightened  our  most  important  city  court,  the  judge  said, 
^'  Mr.  G.,  pardon  me,  you  are  a  young  man,  I  take  the  liberty 
of  pointing  out  to  you  your  mistakes.  I  see  you  have 
"p.  q.^'  at  the  foot  of  your  bill.  Mr.  L.  is  a  good  lawyer, 
isn't  he?" — taking  some  papers  from  his  pocket — ''You  see 

he  signs  his  paper  '  L. p.  d."  This  eminent  jurist  did  not 

even  comprehend  the  cabalistic  abbreviations  for  the  plaintiff 
and  defendant  sides  of  a  case,  as  familiar  in  the  law  as 
'^  Dr./'  for  a  physician  or  '^  Rev."  for  a  minister  in  ordinary 


246  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

life.  He  would  have  sympathized  with  the  embarrassment 
of  King  James  presiding  in  the  King's  Bench,  for,  like  his 
Sovereign  Majesty,  he  always  thought  the  last  the  strongest 
reason.  In  a  case  in  which  both  law  and  fact  were  submitted 
to  the  court,  the  writer  once  heard  his  honor  reverse  him- 
self twice  within  half  an  hour — interrupting  first  the 
plaintifi's  counsel,  then  the  defendant's,  and  again  the  plain- 
tiff's, saying,  at  each  interruption,  that  the  counsel  w^as  "  mani- 
festly right,"  and  directing  the  clerk  to  enter  judgment  for 
his  client^ 

Our  United  States  District  Judge  during  the  reconstruction 
period  was  the  Hon.  John  C.  Underwood,  and  he  usually 
presided  in  the  Circuit  Court  also.  He  was  a  political  bigot, 
as  blind  and  fanatical  as  ever  sat  upon  the  bench.  If  a  case 
had  any  political  complexion,  it  had  for  him  but  one  side. 
Thrusting  out  its  tentacles  everywhere  and  sucking  in  jurisdic- 
tion  of  everything  at  least,  that  seemed  likely  to  benefit  the 
party — with  the  aid  of  its  bankruptcy  powers  and  machinery — 
political  his  court  became  and  continued  long  to  be  the  most 
powerful  engine  in  the  state.  Poor  old  Underwood  !  if  he  had 
been  only  blind  and  bigoted.  Perhaps  there  never  was  judge  or 
man  so  little  in  danger  of  being  libeled  as  he,  for  his  moral 
and  judicial  photograph  is  impressed  indelibly  upon  the 
record  of  two  causes — McVeigh  vs.  United  States^  11  Wal., 
259,  and  Undencood  vs.  3Ig  Veigh,  23  Grat ,  409.  It  clearly 
appears  from  these  cases  that,  in  the  year  1862,  while  sitting 
at  Alexandria,  as  Judge  of  the  United  States  District  Court, 
he  tried  a  libel,  under  the  act  of  July,  1862,  for  forfeiture  of 
the  real  estate  of  one  McVeigh,  who  appeared  by  counsel,  an- 
swered, and  claimed  his  property.  Underwood''  ordered  that 
the  appearance,  answer  and  claim  be  stricken  from  the  files,  for 
the  reason  that  the  defendant  is  a  resident  of  the  city  of 
Richmond,  within  the  Confederate  lines,  and  a  rebel.''  The 
same  day  he  entered  a  decree  of  sale,  and  at  the  sale  himself 
bought  the  house  in  the  name  of  his  wife,  and  moved  into  it. 
Upon  McVeigh's  appeal,  the  Supreme  Court  said  :  "  In  our 
judgment  the  District  Court  committed  a  serious  error  in 
ordering  the  claim  and  answ^er  of  the  defendant  to  be  stricken 
from  the  files.     As  we  are  unanimous  in  this  conclusion,  our 


KECONSTRUCTIOX  IN  VIEGrNIA.  247 

opluloii  will  be  confined  to  that  subject.  The  order,  in  eflPect, 
denied  the  respondent  a  hearing.  It  is  alleged  that  he  was  in 
the  position  of  an  alien  enemy  and  hence  could  have  no  locus 
standi  in  that  forum.  If  assailed  there  he  could  defend 
there.  The  liability  and  the  right  are  inseparable.  A  differ- 
ent result  would  be  a  blot  upon  our  jurisprudence  and  civil- 
ization. We  cannot  hesitate  or  doubt  on  the  subject.  It 
would  be  contrary  to  the  first  principles  of  the  social  compact, 
and  of  the  right  administration  of  justice.'^ 

It  well  illustrates  the  character  of  the  radical  Republican 
party  of  Virginia  at  this  period,  that  this  man  was  chosen  as 
the  president  of  the  Reconstruction  Constitutional  Convention, 
and  that  a  republican  State  convention  in  the  year  1866, 
petitioned  Congress  to  remove  Governor  Pierpoint  and  ap- 
point a  provisional  governor,  and  that  ^'the  Hon.  John  C. 
Underwood,  the  faithful  patriot  and  distinguished  jurist,  who 
has  always  adhered  to  the  government  with  a  fidelity  which 
no  flattery  could  seduce,  no  bribery  corrupt,  nor  fears  intimi- 
date, be  selected  as  said  provisional  governor.'^ 

Not  only  w^as  the  personnel  of  the  reconstruction  courts 
generally  contemptible,  but  their  status  and  position  was  worse. 
It  is  deeply  mortifying  to  an  American  citizen  to  recall  the 
fact  that  any  circumstances  could  have  been  considered  as 
justifying  the  absolute  and  abject  humiliation  of  the  Courts 
of  Justice  under  the  power  of  the  military.  Yet  so  it  was, 
not  in  practice  only,  but  in  theory  and  upon  principle,  in  the 
days  of  reconstruction.  On  the  28th  of  May,  1867,  Gen. 
Schofield  issued  general  orders,  No.  31,  which  embodied  a  sort 
of  judicial  organization  of  his  district,  by  the  appointment  of 
"Military  Commissioners'^  clothed  with  judicial  powers  "to 
be  selected  from  the  officers  of  the  army  and  the  Freed  man's 
Bureau,  who  were  to  be  governed  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duties,  by  the  laws  of  Virginia,  so  far  as  the  same  are  not  in 
conflict  with  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  or  orders  issued 
from  these  headquarters." 

Although  it  was  elsewhere  stated  in  the  order  that  "It  is 
intended  to  aid  the  civil  authorities,  and  not  to  supersede  them 
except  in  cases  of  necessity,"  yet  the  following  paragraphs 
clearly  reveal  the  true  relation  of  these  military  commissioners, 


248  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

and  of  the  military  power  generally,  to  the  civil  courts: 
"Where  parties  are  held  for  trial,  either  in  confinement  or 
under  bail,  such  full  statement  will  be  made  of  the  facts  in 
each  case  as  will  enable  the  Commanding  General  to  decide 
whether  the  case  shall  be  tried  by  a  military  commission  or 
be  brought  before  a  civil  court. 

"  Trial  by  the  civil  courts  will  be  preferred  in  all  cases 
where  there  is  satisfactory  reason  to  believe  that  justice  will 
be  done.  But,  until  the  orders  of  the  Comjnandiug  General 
are  made  known  in  any  case,  the  paramount  jurisdiction  as- 
sumed by  the  military  commissioners  will  be  exclusive.'^ 

In  addition  to  this  general  and  systematic  dependence  of  the 
courts,  in  the  fundamental  point  of  jurisdiction,  upon  the  de- 
cision of  the  Commanding  General,  even  where  they  were 
allowed  to  take  jurisdiction  of  causes,  the  judgments  rendered 
by  them  were  frequently  set  aside,  Avithout  ap})eal  or  other 
regular  process  of  review,  upon  mere  military  order,  of  which 
the  following  is  a  sample.  There  is  recorded  upon  the  order 
book  of  Amelia  County  Court,  under  date  of  November  28th, 
1868,  an  extract  from  special  orders  No.  220,  (by  Maj.  Gen. 
Stoneman),  dated  Headquarters,  Richmond,  Va.,  November 
23rd,  1868,  setting  aside  the  verdict  and  judgment  of  Amelia 
County  Court,  imposing  a  fine  of  fifty  dollars  ($50)  and  costs 
on  Mrs.  Turner,  for  selling  goods  without  license,  granting 
her  a  new  trial  and  ordering  fine  and  costs  paid  by  her  to  be 
refunded,  if  not  already  paid  into  the  state  treasury;  and 
charging  the  military  commissioner  for  the  tenth  division  of 
Virginia,  with  the  execution  of  this  order;  signed,  S.  F.  Chal- 
fin,  assistant  Adjutant-General.  County  Court  ordered  new 
trial,  signed,  W.  A.  Phillips,  P.  J.  P. 

The  writer  is  personally  cognizant  of  sev^eral  such  orders, 
and  presumes  there  are  scores  if  not  hundreds  of  them,  more 
or  less  fully  entered  upon  the  records  of  the  courts  of  the  state. 
While,  in  most  cases,  the  judges  and  magistrates  were  as 
compliant  as  was  the  County  Court  of  Amelia,  yet  there  were 
not  wanting  instances  in  which  the  rough  shock  struck  fire,  as 
in  the  case  of  a  sturdy  old  magistrate  of  the  Shenandoah 
valley,  a  man  of  the  highest  character  and  ability,  and  widely 
influential  in  the  region.     Receiving  an  order  somewhat  sim- 


KECOXSTRUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA.  249 

ilar  to  the  above,  the  old  Virgiuian  rejjlied  substantially  as 
follows  :  "  I  assure  you  I  write  this  letter  in  no  truculent 
spirit,  but  I  am  deeply  moved  and  mortified.  I  acted  in  the 
matter  in  question  and  am  acting  now,  conscientiously,  as  a 
sworn  officer  of  what  you  are  pleased  to  term  *  District 
No.  1,'  but  I  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia.  I  tried  this 
negro  fairly — I  convicted  him  justly — I  have  imprisoned  him 
securely. — If  you  insist  upon  his  release,  you  will  have  to 
come  up  and  bring  the  soldiers  of  the  United  States  with  you, 
and  in  that  case  I  shall  order  out  th-e  posse  of  the  county, 
and  make  the  best  resistance  I  can.'^  It  is  refreshing  to  know 
that  the  dauntless  courage  of  the  heroic  magistrate  kindled  a 
glow  of  sympathetic  admiration  in  the  bosom  of  the  chivalrous 
soldier  commanding  the  District,  and  that  the  matter  was  ar- 
ranged in  some  way,  without  humiliating  the  grand  old  man. 

What  wonder  that  the  majestic  Chief  Justice  of  the  United 
States,  when  urged  to  go  to  Richmond  and  open  the  Circuit 
Court  for  the  trial  of  Sir.  Davis,  refused  to  do  so  while  the 
sword  hung  above  the  judgment  seat — saying  that  "He  could 
not,  consistently  with  his  views  of  public  duty  hold  a  quasi 
military  court,  nor  could  he  hold  a  court  in  any  district  in  a 
state  lately  in  rebellion,  until  all  semblance  of  military  con- 
trol over  Federal  courts  and  their  process  and  proceedings 
had  been  removed  by  the  action  of  the  political  department.'' 
"  I  do  not  wish,  so  long  as — with  my  notions — I  represent 
the  justice  of  the  nation  in  its  highest  seat,  to  hold  any  court, 
in  the  lately — rebel  states,  until  all  possibility  of  claim  that 
the  judicial  is  subordinate  to  the  military  power  is  removed 
by  express  declaration  from  the  President."  * 

Noble  words  !  How  they  stir  a  lawyer's  blood — how  they 
elevate  our  conception  of  Chief  Justice  Chase — what  a  flood  of 
light  they  let  in  upon  "  Reconstruction  and  the  Courts." 

1 86  7.— SKETCH.— 1 870. 

The  change  introduced  by  the  reconstruction  acts  was 
simply  that  we  of  "  the  lately — rebel  states  "  knew  where  we 

*  Schucker's  "  Life  of  Chief  Justice  Chase,"  pages  538-9,  537. 


250  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

stood,  or  ratlier,  that  we  no  longer  had  any  standing,  or  any 
rights  whatever.  Before,  the  course  of  things  had  been  fitful 
— now,  there  was  the  steadiness  of  death ;  Virginia  was 
civil  iter  mortuus. 

Our  real  masters  were,  successively,  Generals  Schofield, 
Stoneman  and  Canby — commanding  District  No.  1.*  The 
two  first  were  soldiers  and  gentlemen  who  simply  admin- 
istered faithfully,  yet  intelligently  and  fairly,  the  absolute 
despotism  of  reconstruction.  General  Schofield  was  moreov^er 
a  ma-n  of  extraordinary  ability.  Canby  released  his  grip,  on 
the  27th  of  January,  1870,  the  day  after  the  bill  readmitting 
Virginia  to  representation  in  Congress  was  passed. 

Meanwhile,  the  so-called  "Governors  of  Virginia''  were 
Francis  H.  Pierpoint,  up  to  April  4th,  1868;  then  H.  IT. 
Wells,  a  gentleman  from  abroad  and  a  military  appointee, 
who,  after  the  election  of  Gilbert  C.  Walker,  in  July,  18G9, 
realizing  that  the  state  no  longer  offered  "great  opportuni- 
ties" abdicated  in  Walker's  favor,  on  September  21st,  but 
the  latter  did  not  become  the  real  Governor  of  the  real  Com- 
monwealth, until  the  27th  of  January,  1870. 

SALIENT    POINTS. 

1.  The  demonstration,  by  actual  experiment,  that  it  was 
impossible  to  maintain,  or  even  to  inaugurate,  civil  govern- 
ment in  Virginia,  under  the  disfranchisements  and  disqualifi- 
cations of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  to  the  Federal  consti- 
tution, the  special  legislation  of  Congress,  or  the  proj)osed 
constitution  of  Virginia. 

Both  Generals  Schofield  and  Stoneman  made  repeated  and 
earnest  official  reports  and  representations  to  the  effect  sub- 
stantially, that,  for  the  vast  majority  of  the  offices,  no  legally 
qualified  incumbents  could  be  found  in  Virginia,  and  none 
could  be  imported  for  the  salaries,  who  possessed  sufficient 
intelligence  to  discharge  the  duties.  General  Schofield  even 
went  upon  the  floor  of  the  Reconstruction  Constitutional  Con- 
vention, which  had  begun  its  sessions,  on  the  3rd  of  Decem- 

^  General  Webb  preceded  and  substituted  Canby  for  a  few  days  of 
April,  186t). 


RECONSTKUCTION  IN  VIEGINIA.  251 

ber,  1867,  and  presented  these  views  as  the  result  of  his  ex- 
perience in  administering  the  affixirs  of  the  district,  earnestly 
advising  and  warning  the  convention  against  the  contemplated 
disqualifying  clauses  and  adding  :  '^  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  I  believe  it  impossible  to  inaugurate  a  government 
upon  that  basis/'  But,  of  that  body  it  might  indeed  be  said  : 
'^  neither  will  they  be  persuaded,  though  one  should  rise  from 
the  dead." 

On  the  21st  of  March,  1869,  General  Stoneman  reported 
to  the  Adjutant  General,  that  there  were  5446  offices  in  the 
state,  of  which  2504  had  been  filled  by  General  Schofield  and 
himself,  and  that  of  these  incumbents  only  329  could  take 
the  test-oath.  That  report  contained  this  pregnant  paragraph  : 
*'  The  conclusion  will  force  itself  upon  every  intelligent  mind, 
that  if,  with  all  the  efforts  that  have  been  made  and  the  lati- 
tude that  has  been  allowed,  the  offices  in  the  state  have  not 
been  filled  by  competent  persons,  they  certainly  cannot  be 
filled  when  the  restrictions  of  any  one  party  are  to  be  ob- 
served and  complied  with,  as  will  be  the  case  upon  the  adop- 
tion of  the  proposed  constitution,  under  which  it  is  desired 
by  some  that  the  people  of  Virginia  shall  be  forced  to  live, 
and  to  the  requirements  of  which  they  are  expected  to  con- 
sent/' 

2.  During  the  season  of  comparative  quiet  after  the 
adjournment  of  the  convention  in  April,  '68 — no  arrange- 
ments having  been  made  for  putting  its  constitution  to 
popular  vote — the  realization  of  what  had  been  so  irresistibly 
demonstrated  was  impressing  itself  more  and  more  upon  all 
thoughtful  men.  This  realization,  superadded  to  the  rabid 
folly  of  the  radical  wing,  displayed  in  resisting  this  demon- 
stration, and  attempting  to  break  its  force  by  the  publication 
of  virulent  libels  against  the  people  of  the  commonwealth 
generally,  and  every  one  who  favored  the  emancipation  of  her 
intelligence  and  worth — gradually  sifted  out  and  separated 
the  better  class  of  republicans  from  the  mass  of  the  party  in 
Virginia;  so  that,  by  the  latter  part  of  1868,  there  had  come 
to  be  a  three-fold  division  of  parties  in  the  state.  Radical 
Republicans,  Conservative  Republicans  and  Conservative 
Democrats — the  two  last-named  being  much  nearer  together 


252  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

than  the  two  first.  There  may  have  been  a  few  Radical  Demo- 
crats also,  but  radical  Democracy  was  out  of  fashion  and  out 
of  heart.  By  the  end  of  1868,  all  men  and  all  parties  had  clearly 
before  them  what  impended,  if  the  constitution  framed  by  the 
convention  should  be  adopted  by  the  people  without  amendment. 

3.  In  the  latter  part  of  December,  1868,  largely  in  conse- 
quence of  the  efforts  of  Hon.  A.  H.  H.  Stuart  of  Augusta 
County,  a  conference  of  prominent  gentlemen  of  the  state 
was  held  at  Richmond,  as  the  result  of  which  a  committee, 
commonly  called  *'  The  Committee  of  Nine,"  headed  by  Mr. 
Stuart,  went  to  Washington  in  January,  '69,  and  appeared 
before  committees  of  both  houses  of  Congress,  urging  that 
the  disfranchising  and  disqualifying  clauses,  and  also  the 
county  organization  clause,  of  the  proposed  constitution 
should  be  put  to  separate  popular  vote.  Committees  of  both 
wings  of  the  Republican  party  were  also  in  attendance,  and 
the  scale  was  probably  turned  when  the  Conservative  Repub- 
lican committee,  which  had  theretofore  been  as  Mr.  Stuart 
says,  a  sort  of  '^  committee  of  observation,''  joined  earnestly 
with   the  Democratic  committee  in  demanding  the    enfran- 

chisino;  of  the  intelhVence  and  character  of  the  state. 

•  -I 
General  Grant,  then  President-elect,  was  also  interviewed, 

and  one  of  his  first  acts  as  President  was  to  recommend  to 
Congress  to  allow  a  separate  vote  upon  the  disfranchising 
and  disqualifving  clauses.  He  did  not  make  the  recommen- 
dation as  to  the  county  organization  clause,  because  of  differ- 
ence of  opinion  in  his  Cabinet  as  to  the  probable  effect  of  the 
striking  out  of  this  clause  upon  the  proposed  public  school 
system  of  the  state.* 

4.  As  a  result.  Congress  passed  the  act  as  recommended  by 
the  President — the  regular  Democratic  state  ticket  of  Vir- 
ginia previously  nominated  in  May,  1868,  was  withdrawn, 
the  Democrats  or  ''  Conservative  Party,"  as  they  had  now 
christened  themselves,  supporting  the  ticket  nominated  by  the 
conservative  Republicans — the  election  was  held  in  July, 
1869 — the    disfranchising    and   disqualifying   clauses    were 

*  Mr.  Stuart's  pamphlet  entitled,  ''  A  Narrative  of  the  First  Popular 
Movement  in  Virginia,"  in  1865,  and  of  the  "  Committee  of  Nine,"  in 
1869. 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA.  253 

stricken  out,  the  constitution  thus  expurgated  was  adopted — 
Gilbert  C.  Walker  was  elected  governor — and  the  old  com- 
monwealth was  redeemed  and  restored. 

January  26th,  1870,  against  the  protest  and  opposition  of 
the  Radical  party  of  the  state,  an  act  was  passed  readmitting 
Virginia  to  representation  in  Congress,  and  the  nightmare  of 
Eeconstruction  became — God  grant  that  it  may  ever  remain 
to  the  people  of  this  country — a  thing  of  the  past. 

It  is  a  pleasure,  in  closing,  to  record  the  grateful  obligations 
of  Virginia  to  Generals  Schofield,  Stoneman  and  Grant  for 
the  manly  and  generous  parts  taken  by  them  respectively  in 
the  diseuthrallment  of  the  state.  Only  the  inexorable  demands 
of  history  have  induced  us  to  record  obligations  to  others  of 
a  less  pleasant  nature.  But  for  these  demands,  it  would  be  as 
agreeable  to  Virginians  to  forget  the  latter  obligations  as  to 
cherish  the  former. 

YI. 

THE   COXSTITUTIOXAli    QUESTION. 

1st.  In  the  division  of  Virginia  and  admission  of  West 
Virginia. 

It  is  undoubtedly  the  general  popular  impression,  shared  in 
some  degree  even  by  the  bar  of  the  country,  that,  in  the  case 
of  Virginia  vs.  West  Virginia,  11  Wal.  39,  the  Supreme  Court 
condoned  and  validated  this  entire  transaction.  The  impres- 
sion is  groundless,  as  a  moment's  reflection  will  show. 

In  the  first  place,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  bill  of  Virginia 
conceded  the  existence  of  West  Virginia  as  a  sovereign  state 
of  the  American  Union.  The  very  name  and  style  of  the  cause 
shows  this.  Indeed,  the  section  of  the  constitution  upon 
which  alone  the  question  as  to  existence  and  admission  of 
West  Virginia  could  be  raised,  was  not  so  much  as  once  re- 
ferred to,  either  by  court  or  counsel,  so  far  as  the  reported 
case  shows.  The  only  question  raised  in  the  suit  was  as  to 
the  validity  of  the  transfer  of  Berkeley  and  Jefferson  counties, 
contested  upon  the  grounds  of  invalidity  of  the  popular  elec- 
tion upon  the  question  of  annexation,  mistake  of  fact,  and 
withdrawal  of  consent.     All  else  was  conceded. 


254  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

But,  in  the  second  place,  as  a  matter  of  law,  the  concession 
of  West  Virginia's  legal  existence  as  a  state  was  a  necessary 
condition  precedent  to  the  bringing  of  the  suit;  the  Supreme 
Court  could  not  have  entertained  the  suit  without  it. 

Flrstj  because  it  would  not  otherwise  have  had  jurisdiction 
o^the  parties.  That  court  may  entertain  suits  against  "  states/' 
actual  states,  not  bogus  or  pretended  states. 

Second,  because  it  could  not  take  jurisdiction  at  all  of  the 
question  whether  or  not  West  Virginia  was  a  lawful  and  ex- 
isting state  of  the  Union. 

It  is  settled,  in  a  line  of  well  considered  cases  that,  questions 
such  as  the  admission  of  new  states,  the  determination  and 
recognition  of  the  lawful  government  in  a  state,  etc.,  etc.,  are 
"political  questions,"  and  exclusively  within  the  province  of 
"the  political  department"  /.  e.,  the  legislature,  the  Congress, 
(in  some  cases  the  executive  also);  and  that  the  determination 
of  these  questions  by  the  political  department  is  not  review- 
able by  the  judicial  department.  Says  Mr.  Hare,  in  his  work 
on  American  Constitutional  Law>  vol.  1,  page  124  :  "That 
such  questions  are  purely  political,  and  do  not  belong  to  the 
province  of  the  judiciary,  sufficiently  appears  from  the  case 
of  Luther  vs.  Borden,  7  Howard  1."  Th.e  case  cited  by  ]\Ir. 
Hare,  is  the  leading  case,  but  there  are  others.  For  an  excel- 
lent statement  of  the  position  and  some  strong  reasons  in  sup- 
port of  it,  see  Scott  vs.  Jones,  5  How^ard,  IMI-H. 

All  this  is  undeniable,  but  one  inference  from  it  must  not 
be  overlooked.  The  action  of  the  political  department  upon 
such  questions  being  final,  and  not  reviewable  by  the  courts, 
of  course  the  courts  cannot  and  do  not  say  whether,  in  their 
opinion,  in  any  given  case  of  this  class,  C-ongress  has  or  has 
not  violated  the  constitution.  The  Attorney- General  occu- 
pies a  peculiar  and  a  very  different  position  in  the  Govern- 
ment. In  some  respects  related  to  the  judicial,  he  is  more 
closely  connected  with  the  political  department.  It  is  his 
special  province  and  duty  to  advise  the  executive,  as  to  the 
legal  phase  of  political  questions.  Accordingly,  Mr.  Lincoln 
consulted  Attorney-General  Bates  when,  in  December,  1862, 
the  bill  admitting  West  Virginia,  passed  by  both  houses, 
came  into  his  hands  for  approval ;  although,  for  reasons  best 


EECONSTKUCTION  IN  VIRGIXIA.  255 

known  to  himself,  he  did  not  follow  his  opinion.  Possibly 
the  political  considerations,  as  sometimes  happens,  ontweighed 
the  legal.  But  the  people  of  the  United  States  might  do  well 
to  examine  Mr.  Bates'  opinion.  It  may  be  found  in  Vol.  X. 
of  Attorney-GeneraPs  Opinions,  page  426,  etc.  It  is  thus 
epitomized  by  himself:  ''I  am  of  opinion  that  the  bill  is 
not  warranted  by  the  constitution.^' 

The  syllabus  is  too  long  to  print,  and,  in  order  that  our 
synopsis  of  the  opinion  may  be  better  comprehended,  we  here 
insert  Section  3,  of  Article  IV.,  of  the  United  States  Consti- 
tution, which  is  the  provision  involved. 

'^New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into  this 
Union  ;  bat  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  any  other  State ;  nor  any  State  be  formed 
by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  States,  or  parts  of  States 
without  the  consent  of  the  Legislatures  of  the  States  con- 
cerned, as  well  as  of  the  Congress.'' 

The  synopsis  of  Attorney-General  Bates'  opinion  is  as  fol- 
lows :  Congress  can  admit  only  existing  states;  West  Vir- 
ginia did  not  exist  till  Congress  admitted  her. 

The  letter  of  the  constitution  either  prohibits  the  formation 
of  a  state  within  the  territory  of  another  state,  or  else  per- 
mits it  with  the  consent  of  the  legislatures  of  both  the  states 
concerned.  Upon  either  construction,  the  admission  of  West 
Virginia  violates  the  letter. 

Even  if  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  the  parent  state 
alone  were  sufficient,  yet  the  spirit  and  sense,  at  least,  require 
the  consent  of  a  legislature  really  representing  the  entire 
state,  and  not,  as  in  this  case,  only  that  jxirt  which  is  to  form 
the  new  state. 

The  question  Mr.  Bates  raises,  as  to  whether  the  constitu- 
tion absolutely  prohibits  the  formation  of  a  new  state  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  another  state,  or  permits  it  with  the  con- 
sent of  both  the  states  concerned,  is  in  some  degree  a  question 
of  punctuation.  The  section  is  punctuated  above,  as  it  is  in 
most  copies  of  the  constitution,  as  it  is  in  Mr.  Madison's 
notes,  and  in  his  papers  in  the  Federalist,  i.  e.,  with  a  semi-co- 
Ion  instead  of  a  comma,  after  the  words,  "jurisdiction  of  any 
other  State."     The  bearing  of  this  is  obvious. 


256  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Those  who  care  to  look  into  the  probal)le  origin  of  this 
provision  will  be  interested  in  the  examination  and  compar- 
ison of  11  Heming's  Statutes-at-Large,  pages  569-70  and 
326,  referring  to  Virginia's  cession  of  the  northwest  terri- 
tory and  the  conditions  she  proposed — with  two  of  Mr.  Mad- 
ison's papers  in  the  Federalist,  No.  38,  page  299,  and  No.  43, 
pages  340-41.  Our  idea  is  that  Section  3d  of  Article  4th  is 
the  guarantee  Virginia  demanded,  though  in  another  form. 
We  think,  that  is,  that  the  old  guarantee  demanded  by  Vir- 
ginia, is  the  origin  of  the  clause  of  the  ])resent  constitution 
which  Attorney-General  Bates'  opinion  discusses. 

2d.     In  the  Reconstruction  Acts. 

The  right  to  pass  these  statutes  was  claimed  by  Congress 
under  what  is  termed  "  the  guarantee  clause  ''  of  the  consti- 
tution, being  Section  4th  of  Article  4th,  which  is  in  these 
words  :  "The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in 
this  Union  a  republican  Form  of  government,  and  shall  pro- 
tect each  of  them  against  invasion  ;  and,  on  a})plication  of 
the  Legislature,  or  of  the  Executive  (when  the  Legislature 
cannot  be  convened),  against  domestic  violence." 

The  position  and  principle  are  precisely  the  same  as  above. 
The  question  is  di  political  owe,  and  within  the  exclusive  pro- 
vince of  the  political  department.  We  will  not  go  into  the 
history  of  the  efforts  made  to  have  the  constitutionality  of 
these  laws  tested.  Any  one  who».is  interested  can  examine 
the  cases  for  himself.  The  most  important  are  State  of  Mis- 
sissippi vs.  Johnson,  4  Wal.,  475 ;  ex  parte  McCardle,  7  Wal., 
506 ;  and  Texas  vs.  Wlute,  7  Wal.,  700.  The  McCardle 
case  was  nev^r  decided  upon  its  merits,  because,  after  it  was 
argued  and  submitted,  Congress  took  away  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  court.  Some  authorities  regard  Texas  vs.  White  as  set- 
tling th'C  constitutionality  of  the  acts.  We  do  not  regard  it 
as  departing  at  all  from  the  principle  of  Luther  vs.  Borden, 
which  it  quotes  with  approval. 

Our  purpose  is  not  in  any  manner  to  suggest  the  raising  of 
any  of  these  questions  in  the  future.  We  regard  them  as 
settled,  upon  the  distinct  and  conclusive  ground  that  the 
courts  cannot  entertain  jurisdiction  of  them.     But^  for  this 


RECONSTEUCTIOX  IN  VIRGINIA.  257 

very  reason,  because  the  courts  never  have  reviewed  and 
never  can  review  the  action  of  Congress  in  either  of  the 
momentous  matters  herein  discussed,  we  deem  it  well  the 
American  people  should  for  themselves  examine  the  constitu- 
tional provisions  involved,  and  the  action  of  Congress  in  the 
premises,  and  pass  their  own  judgment.  We  are  happy,  that, 
as  to  one  of  these  questions,  they  may  be  aided,  if  not  guided 
by  the  opinion  of  the  legal  adviser  of  President  Lincoln's 
Cabinet. 

Egbert  Stiles. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

RECONSTRUCTION  IN  WEST  VIRGINIA. 

THE  history  of  the  state  of  West  Virginia  during  the  re- 
construction period  does  not  differ  greatly  from  that  of 
the  other  border  states. .    There  was  the  same  display  of 
revengeful  legislation,  the  same  struggle  of  a  minority  to  retain 
political  power,  that  marked  the  transition   between  war  and 
peace   in    Maryland,   Missouri  and   elsewhere.       The  State 
Government  being  entirely  in  the  control  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  a  full  delegation  of  Republicans  being  })resent  in  • 
both  Houses  of  Congress,  West  Virginia  was  ex'  mpted  from 
the  operation  of  the  reconstruction  laws,  and  her  people  were 
left  to  deal  with  the  problem  of  pacification  in  their  own  way, 
without  interference  by  the  Federal   authorities  and   without 
much  assistance  from  the  tribe  of  carpet-baggers.    The  native 
Republicans  were  numerous  enough  to  hold  all  the  offices  of 
value,  and  they  were  naturally  averse  to  sharing  the  feast  with 
strangers  who  came  in  after  the  fray.    Hence  the  adventurers 
from  Northern  States,  who  played  so  conspicuous  parts  in  the 
South  in  the  years  immediately  succeeding  the  civil  Avar,  did 
not  find  a  congenial  field  of  operations  in  West  Virginia  and 
sought  out  otlier  localities  where  the  white  Republicans  were 
fewer  and  the  negroes  more  numerous. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  there  was  a  strong  Union 
sentiment  amt)ng  the  people  of  the  counties  of  Virginia  now 
composing  the  state  of  West  Virginia.  There  was  a  decided 
majority  against  the  ordinance  of  secession  ;  but  after  the  war 
had  actually  begun,  and  the  state  of  Virginia  became  the 
scene  of  conflict,  very  many  of  those  who  had  voted  against 
secession  either  enrolled  themselves  in  the  Confederate  army 
or  remained  at  home  in  either  active  or  tacit  sympathy  with 
258 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  WEST  VIRGINIA.  259 

the  Confederate  cause^  so  that  in  1863  when  the  new  state 
was  formed,  a  large  majority  of  the  legal  inhabitants  of  the 
counties  embraced  within  its  limits  took  no  part  in  the  trans- 
action. Out  of  a  voting  population  in  1860  of  more  than 
50,000,  the  state  of  West  Virginia  started  upon  its  career 
with  the  expressed  consent  and  approbatiou  of  less  than  19,- 
000  votes.  The  Uuion  sentiment  was  strongest  in  the  coun- 
ties lying  along  the  Northern  and  Western  borders,  or  along 
the  line  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad ;  it  was  weaker 
in  the  interior  counties;  while  in  the  counties  upon  the 
Southern  and  Eastern  borders  it  was  almost  non-existent,  the 
people  being  practically  unanimous  in  support  of  the  South- 
ern cause.  According  to  the  reports  of  the  Adjutant-General, 
the  state  of  West  Virginia  was  credited  with  furnishing  to 
the  Union  army,  from  first  to  last,  a  total  of  31,884  men. 
Several  entire  regiments  which  are  credited  to  West  Virginia, 
were  recruited  in  Ohio  or  elsewhere,  and  officered  by  Ohio 
men.  During  the  last  two  years  of  the  war^  when  large 
bounties  w^ere  paid  for  enlistments  to  complete  the  quota  of 
troops  called  for,  the  volunteers  came  almost  entirely  from 
abroad,  and  when  substitutes  were  secured  to  take  the  places 
of  conscripted  men,  these  substitutes  were  for  the  most  part 
obtained  in  Northern  cities  or  were  newly-arrived  immigrants 
from  abroad.  It  is  now  impossible  to  obtain  any  accurate 
fio;ures  as  to  the  number  of  soldiers  furnished  to  the  Southern 
armies  by  the  counties  composing  West  Virginia.  The  mus- 
ter-rolls hav^e  been  lost  or  destroyed,  and  it  is  not  known  that 
any  record  even  approaching  completeness  is  now  in  existence. 
Recruiting  was  active  in  many  of  the  counties  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war ;  but  when  the  Federal  armies  advanced  in 
1861,  of  course  enlistment  in  the  Confederate  army  ceased  at 
all  points  within  the  Federal  line,  though  it  went  on  with 
increased  activity  and  thoroughness  in  the  counties  not  under 
Federal  control,  and  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  the  total 
number  of  West  Virginians  who  served  at  one  time  or  an- 
other in  the  Confederate  army  exceeded  by  several  thousands 
the  number  who  espoused  the  Union  cause. 

These  facts  are  mentioned  here  simply  for  the  purpose  of 
affording  some  clue   to  the  relative  strength  of  the  parties 


260  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

when  the  war  closed  and  the  era  of  reconstriiotion  "began. 
The  returns  of  elections  held  at  various  times  during  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  war  afford  no  trustworthy  indication  of  pop- 
ular sentiment.  They  are  significantly  one-sided,  and  siiow 
only  that  the  people  opposed  to  the  party  in  power  did  not 
vote;  not  that  they  did  not  exist.  The  Constitution  of  ]863, 
and  the  officers  elected  under  it,  all  derived  their  authority 
from  a  minority  composed  of  scarcely  more  than  one-third  of 
the  people  of  the  state. 

The  Constitution  of  1863  was,  in  the  main,  a  fair,  prudent 
and  equitable  instrument.  True,  it  was  afterwards  warped 
by  construction  so  as  to  tolerate  the  most  proscriptive  and 
unjust  enactments,  but  that  was  the  fault  of  the  Legishiture 
and  the  courts  ;  the  Constitution  was  right,  but  the  courts 
were  wrong.  The  Constitutional  provision  as  to  the  elective 
franchise  was  contained  in  Section  1  of  Article  III.  in  these 
words : 

"The  white  male  citizens  of  the  state  shall  be  entitled  to 
vote  at  all  elections  held  within  the  election  districts  in  which 
they  respectively  reside ;  but  no  person  who  is  a  minor,  or  of 
unsound  mind,  or  a  pauper,  or  who  is  under  conviction  of 
treason,  felony,  or  bribery  in  an  election,  or  who  has  not  been 
a  resident  of  the  state  for  one  year,  and  of  the  county  in 
which  he  offers  to  vote  for  thirty  days  next  preceding  such 
offer,  shall  be  permitted  to  vote  while  such  disability  contin- 
ues.'^ 

The  Constitution  declared  in  Section  6  of  Article  I.,  tliat, 
'*  The  citizens  of  the  state  are  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  residing  therein." 

These  provisions  are  in  the  main  similar  to  those  relating 
to  the  SI  me  subject  in  the  Constitution  of  Virginia  and  of 
other  states,  and  the  restrictions  upon  the  suffrage  are  only 
those  which  are  usually  imposed.  They  are  ])rospective  in 
effect  and  attach  to  no  crime  a  punishment  which  had  not 
been  ordained  before  the  offence  was  committed,  and  the  disa- 
bility to  vote  is  made  contingent  upon  conviction  of  the 
crime. 

The  first  Legislature  held  under  the  new  Constitution 
adopted  a  number  of  ''  war  measures,"  such  as  acts  for  the 


KECONSTEUCTION  IN  WEST  VIEGIXIA.  261 

forfeiture  of  the  property  of  persons  engaged  in  rebellion, 
and  various  other  sanguinary  resolutions,  but  it  did  not 
attempt  to  restrict  the  suiFrage  further  than  is  provided  in  the 
section  of  the  Constitution  quoted  above.  The  general 
election  law  passed  at  this  session  provided  that, 

"  The  supervisor  and  inspectors  at  every  election  shall 
permit  all  persons  to  vote  who  are  residents  of  their  town- 
ship and  qualified  to  vote  according  to  the  first  section  of  the 
third  article  of  the  Constitution/^ 

If  a  voter  were  challenged,  he  might  be  required  to  take 
an  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and 
the  Constitution  of  the  state  of  West  Virginia — only  this 
and  nothing  more — and  this  oath  alone  was  to  be  exacted 
from  officers  of  the  state.  But  at  the  same  session — that  of 
1863 — the  Legislature  seriously  damaged  the  Constitution 
which  the  members  had  so  recently  and  enthusiastically 
adopted  and  sworn  to  support,  by  enacting  a  law  in  the  fol- 
low^pg  terms : 

"  Every  person  elected  or  appointed  to  any  office  of  trust, 
civil  or  military,  shall,  before  proceeding  to  exercise  the 
authority  or  discharge  the  duties  of  the  same,  take  the  fol- 
lowing oath  :  I,  A.  B.,  do  solemnly  swear  that  I  will  support 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  the  Constitu- 
tion of  this  state ;  that  I  have  never  voluntarily  borne 
arms  against  the  United  States;  that  I  have  voluntarily 
given  no  aid  or  comfort  to  persons  engaged  in  armed  hostility 
thereto,  by  countenancing,  counseling  or  encouraging  them  in 
the  same  ;  that  I  have  not  sought,  accepted,  nor  attempted  to 
exercise  the  functions  of  any  office  whatever,  under  any 
authority  in  hostility  to  the  United  States ;  that  I  have  not 
yielded  a  voluntary  support  to  any  pretended  government, 
authority,  power  or  Constitution  within  the  United  States 
hostile  or  inimical  thereto;  and  that  I  take  this  obligation 
freely  without  any  mental  reservation  or  purpose  of  evasion.'' 

This  is  the  first  appearance  of  the  famous  test -oath  upon  the 
statute  books  of  West  Virginia.  It  appeared  a  great  many  times 
afterwards  :  sometimes  with  additional  clauses  or  with  care- 
fully drawn  limitations;  but  always  in  its  main  features  it 
w^as  the  same.     Having  set  it  out  in  full  here,  it  will  be  here- 


262  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

after  referred  to  simply  as  "the  test-oath '^  and  will  not  be 
again  presented  in  its  entirety. 

Ao  the  election  held  in  the  fall  of  1864  there  was  very- 
little  opposition  to  the  Republican  candidates.  A  McClellan 
electoral  ticket  was  put  in  the  field  a  few  weeks  before  the 
election,  but  it  was  voted  for  in  only  a  few  of  the  counties, 
and  Mr.  Lincoln, carried  the  state,  receiving  23,233  votes  as 
against  10,437  votes  cast  for  tlic  Democratic  candidate.  There 
was  no  opposition  to  the  Republican  ticket  for -state  officers. 
But  the  vote  cast  for  McClellan,  small  as  it  was,  seems  to 
have  alarmed  the  Republican  politicMuns.  The  war  was 
nearly  over  and  it  was  apparent  to  all  that  the  unequal  com- 
bat must  soon  end  in  the  triumph  of  the  Federal  arms. 
Already  the  Confederate  armies  were  rapidly  disintegrating. 
The  rebels  were  coming  home ;  not  in  battalions,  nor  even  by 
squads;  but  singly  and  quietly  they  were  seeking  to  rebuild 
their  desolate  homes  and  take  their  places  in  the  ranks  of 
peaceful  avocation.  There  was  nothing  in  the  Constitution 
or  laws  of  the  state  that  could  ])rohibit  them  from  voting. 
There  was  danger  that  the  will  of  the  majority  might  be  ex- 
pressed at  the  polls  ;  that  the  i)eople,  who  are  the  source  of 
all  lawful  authority  in  a  government  republican  in  form, 
might  come  to  claim  their  own. 

In  this  emergency  the  Legislature,  on  the  25th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1865,  proceeded  to  amend  the  election  law  which  had 
been  adopted  in  November,  1863,  by  providing  that  if  the 
right  of  any  voter  were  challenged  at  the  polls,  he  should 
not  be  allowed  to  vote  until  he  produced  an  affidavit,  duly 
sworn  to  before  and  attested  by  a  notary  or  other  officer 
authorized  to  administer  an  oath,  in  which  the  unlucky 
citizen  was  required  to  swear  that  he  had  never  voluntarily 
borne  arms  against  the  United  States,  "  the  reorganized  gov- 
ernment of  Virginia/^  or  the  state  of  West  Virginia,  etc., 
etc.,  after  the  style  of  the  test-oath  for  officers  set  forth  above. 
Just  why  the  voter  was  required  to  purge  himself  of  any 
past  hostility  to  the  reorganized  government  of  Virginia  seems 
rather  difficult  to  understand  at  this  distance  of  time.  The 
government  of  Virginia  was  reorganized  at  Wheeling  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  its  consent  to  the  formation  of  the  new 


EECONSTRUCTIOX  IN  WEST  VIEGINIA.  263 

state,  and  thus  technically  complying  with  one  of  the  require- 
ments of  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  when  that  consent  was 
given,  the  reorganized  government  took  itself  away  to  Alexan- 
dria and  concerned  thfe  people  of  the  state  no  more.  Whether 
any  human  being  ever  bore  arms  against  the  reorganized 
government  of  Virginia  who  did  not  at  the  same  time  bear 
arms  against  the  United  States,  to  say  nothing  of  the  state  of 
AVest  Virginia,  would  have  puzzled  even  the  framers  of  the 
law  to  find  out.  But  the  phrase  has  a  solemn  jingle  and 
hence  was  repeated  in  full  in  every  clause  of  the  oath. 

It  was  immediately  pointed  out  and  contended  by  those 
who  had  regard  for  popular  rights  that  the  amendment  to  the 
election  law  was  plainly  and  flagrantly  in  violation  of  the 
Constitution  ;  that  the  Legislature  had  no  power  to  pass  such 
an  act;  and  that  the  members  who  voted  for  it  had  deliber- 
ately and  with  full  knowledge  violated  their  oaths.  In  reply, 
the  Republican  members  said,  in  effect.  We  know  it  is  uncon- 
stitutional, but  we  mean  to  amend  the  Constitution  itself  in 
conformity  with  the  act,  and  in  the  mean  time  we  will  enforce 
the  amended  law.  Accordingly,  on  the  1st  of  March,  1865, 
the  following  amendment  was  proposed,  to  be  added  to  the 
first  section  of  Article  III. : — 

*'No  person  who,  since  the  first  day  of  June,  1861,  has 
giv^en,  or  shall  give  voluntary  aid  or  assistance  to  the  rebellion 
against  the  United  States  shall  be  a  citizen  of  this  state  or  be 
allowed  to  vote  at  any  election  held  therein,  unless  he  has 
volunteered  into  the  military  or  naval  service  of  the  United 
States,  and  has  been,  or  shall  be,  honorably  discharged  there- 
from.^^ 

The  mode  of  amendment  fixed  by  the  Constitution  required 
the  proposition  to  be  agreed  to  by  a  majority  of  each  house 
of  the  Legislature ;  published  in  each  county  for  three  months 
before  the  next  general  election  ;  agreed  to  a  second  time  by 
both  houses  of  the  Legislature,  and  then  submitted  to  a  vote 
of  the  people,  and  if  a  majority  of  the  qualified  voters  voting 
upon  the  question  ratified  the  proposed  amendment  it  became 
of  force  '''from  the  time  of  such  i^atlfication,  as  a  part  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  state.'^ 

The  Legislature  elected  in  the  fall  of  1865,  by  excluding 


264  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH?] 

the  votes  of  those  who  could  only  be  lawfully  excluded  from 
the  ballot  after  the  proposed  change  had  been  made  in  the 
Constitution,  met  in  January,  1806,  and,  on  the  13th  of  Feb- 
ruary assented  the  second  time  to  tlie  proposed  amendment, 
and  provided  for  submitting  it  to  a  vote  of  the  people  at  the 
election  to  be  held  for  school  and  township  officers  on  the 
24th  of  the  following  ^lay. 

But  the  Legislature  of  1866  went  much  further  than  any 
of  its  predecessors  in  the  destruction  of  popular  rights;  in 
the  establishment  of  an  oligarchy ;  in  the  erection  of  a  privi- 
leged class,  in  whom  alone  the  j)ower  of  government  sliould 
reside.  Fearful  lest  the  election  officers  should  fail  to  enforce 
the  confessedly  unconstitutional  act  of  1865  relating  to  elec- 
tions by  the  people,  they  vested  in  the  hands  of  the  Governor 
of  the  state  the  right  of  the  people  to  vote  and  enabled  him 
to  control  the  franchise.  They  went  about  it  in  this  way : 
An  act  was  passed  for  the  registration  of  voters ;  a  board  of 
registration  was  to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor  in  each 
county,  consisting  of  three  persons  "from  among  the  citizens 
most  known  for  loyalty,  firmness  and  uprightness;''  the  board 
was  to  appoint  a  registrar  in  each  township,  whose  duty  it 
was  to  place  upon  the  roll  of  voters  only  those  citizens  who 
could  take  the  test-oath.  The  township  registrar  was  remov- 
able by  the  board  of  registration,  and  the  board  of  registra- 
tion was  removable  by  the  Gov^ernor.  It  was  thus  possible 
for  the  Governor  to  supervise  the  rights  of  every  citizen,  from 
the  highest  to  the  lowest.  If  a  registrar  was  found  to  have 
scruples  as  to  the  exclusion  of  his  neighbors  from  the  polls, 
he  was  prom])tly  removed  and  a  more  serviceable  man  ap- 
pointed by  the  board  of  registration,  and  if  the  board  became 
frightened  by  the  prospect  of  being  called  upon  to  defend 
suits  at  law,  the  Governor  could  always  be  relied  upon  to  re- 
move any  man  who  hesitated  to  do  the  work  assigned  to  him. 
In  fact,  the  whole  machinery  of  registration  was  practically 
subject  to  the  absolute  and  arbitrary  will  of  the  Governor; 
and  when  it  is  known  that  by  subsequent  enactments  nearly 
all  of  the  civil  rights  of  the  people  were  made  dependent 
upon  the  registration  ;  that  the  man  who  was  not  a  regis- 
tered  voter    was   practically   under   sentence   of    outlawry ; 


EECONSTRUCTIO:^  1]S  WEST  VIRGINIA.  265 

some  idea  of  the  vast  power  given  to  the  Governor  may  be 
conceived. 

Daring  the  year  1865,  there  had  been  much  discussion  in 
the  newspapers  and  at  public  meetings  as  to  the  duty  of  elec- 
tion officers.  It  had  been  insisted  that  the  amendment  to  the 
general  election  law  could  not  be  regarded  as  valid  and  that 
whoever  enforced  it  or  acted  under  it  did  so  at  his  own  peril. 
The  supervisors  and  inspectors  were  threatened  with  suits  for 
damages  if  they  refused  the  ballot  of  any  voter  who  possessed 
the  constitutional  qualifications.  It  was  contended  that  a 
void  act  was  void  from  the  beginning  and  never  could  have 
any  validity  whatever,  and  therefore  it  could  not  protect  th6 
officer  who  enforced  it.  But  in  order  to  stiffen  and  encourage 
the  officers,  the  Legislature  provided  that  all  suits  brought 
ag^ainst  them  for  acts  done  in  obedience  to  the  unconstitutional 
law  should  be  defended  at  public  expense,  and  on  the  17th  of 
February,  1866,  an  act  was  passed  "  to  prevent  and  punish 
the  forcible  or  unlawful  obstruction  of  public  justice,'^  by 
which  it  was  provided  that  "  no  officer  in  the  lawful  discharge 
of  his  official  duty  under  any  act  of  the  Legislature,  or  any 
order  or  proclamation  of  the  Governor  of  this  state  shall  be 
deemed  personally  responsible  therefor  (either  civilly  or  crimi- 
nally) by  reason  of  such  act,  order  or  proclamation  being 
afterwards  adjudged  by  any  Court  of  this  state  to  be  uncon- 
stitutional and  void." 

The  same  Legislature  required  all  the  supervisors  and  In- 
spectors of  election  to  take  the  test  oath  before  entering  upon 
the  discharge  of  their  duty,  and  provided  that  '^  in  no  case  shall 
the  votes  taken  at  any  place  of  voting  be  counted  unless  said 
oath  so  appear  on  the  poll  books." 

Having  thus  arranged  the  election  law  so  as  to  enforce  be- 
fore ratification  the  constitutional  amendment  which  they 
wished  to  adopt,  the  Legislature  proceeded  to  punish  the 
members  of  the  bar  who  had  dared  to  call  in  question  the 
validity  of  their  acts,  and  on  the  14th  of  February,  1866, 
it  was  enacted  that  no  attorney-at-law  should  be  allowed  to 
practice  in  any  court,  or  before  any  justice  or  board  of  su{>er- 
visors  until  he  had  taken  a  test-oath  that  he  had  not 
"since  the  twentieth  day  of  June,  1863"  borne  arms  against 


2G6  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

the  United  States,  etc.  The  date  inserted  in  the  oath  was 
thB  date  of  the  formation  of  the  state  of  West  Virginia, 
bnt  why  attorneys  were  limited  to  tliat  date  while  voters 
were  required  to  swear  that  they  had  not  been  en<!:aged  in 
hostility  since  the  first  day  of  June,  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-one,  and  officers  were  compelled  to  declare  that  they 
had  never  borne  arms  against  the  United  States,  does  not 
clearly  ap])ear.  The  attorney's  test-oath  inflicted  a  great 
hardship  upon  a  large  class  of  citizens,  and  produced  much 
unhappiness  and  discontent.  It  was  frequently  brought  into 
question  before  the  courts,  as  will  be  mentioned  hereafter. 
Prior  to  the  election  of  school  and  township  olficers,  held 
on  the  24th  of  May,  1866,  there  was  an  active  and  excit- 
ing canvass.  The  war  was  over,  hostilities  having  entirely 
and  forever  ceased  during  the  preceding  summer.  The  Con- 
federate armies  had  been  disbanded,  but  the  fury  of  the 
Republican  politicians  seemed  to  gather  strength  from  the  ab- 
sence of  physical  danger.  The  Boards  of  Registration  were 
appointed  ;  township  registrars  were  designated,  and  the 
work  of  disfranchisement  was  formally  begun.  Not  content 
with  excluding  all  who  were  not  willing  to  take  the  test- 
oath,  the  registrars  doubted  the  loyalty  of  nearly  every 
citizen  who  was  known  lo  be  opposed  to  the  arbitrary 
measures  adopted  by  the  Legislature,  and  assumed  the  right 
to  refuse  to  register  many  who  produced  before  them  the 
affidavit  required  by  the  law.  An  appeal  to  the  Board  of 
Registration  was  permitted  to  any  person  aggrieved  by  the 
action  of  a  township  registrar,  but  iq  most  cases  the  appeal 
w^as  but  a  prolongation  of  the  farce.  The  Boards  of  Re- 
gistration and  the  registrars  were  all  of  the  same  party, 
and  it  was  found  difficult  to  procure  in  many  of  the  counties 
respectable  citizens  who  would  consent  to  engage  in  the 
odious  task  ;  but  where  men  of  honor  and  high  standing 
cou-ld  not  be  found,  the  Governor  was  content  to  entrust 
the  administration  of  the  law  to  persons  less  scrupulous, 
and  so  the  work  was  done.  When  the  vote  upon  the  pro- 
posed constitutional  amendment  had  been  cast  and  counted, 
it  was  declared  that  22,224  votes  had  been  given  for  ratifi- 
cation, and  15,302    far  rejection,  and    that  the  amendment 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  WEST  VIRGINIA.  267 

was  therefore  ratified  and  in  full  force  as  a  part  of  tlie  Con- 
stitution of  the  state.  If  the  law  under  which  the  amend- 
ment was  submitted  was  constitutional,  there  was  no  neces- 
sity for  the  amendment;  if  the  election  law  was  unconsti- 
tutional and  void,  then  the  amendment  had  not  been  legally 
ratified. 

The  party  in  power  now  felt  that  it  had  gained  a  new  lease 
of  existence  and  that  the  way  was  open  for  the  adoption  of 
any  further  proscriptive  measures  which  might  be  deemed 
desirable,  while  the  opponents  of  proscription  saw  in  the  large 
vote  which,  in  the  face  of  many  obstacles,  had  been  cast  for 
rejection  of  the  amendment  the  nucleus  of  a  party  which  they 
felt  sure  would  grow.     At  the  state  election  in  the  Fall  of 

1866,  the  Republican  ticket  received  23,509  votes  as  against 
16,791  for  the  opposition. 

The  Legislature  which  assembled  in  January,  1867,  was,  as 
might  have  been  expected,  more  bitter  and  vindictive  than 
any  of  its  predecessors.  An  act  passed  February  19,  1867, 
required  all  jurors  empannelled  for  the  trial  of  cases,  civil  or 
criminal,  to  be  registered  voters.     An  act  passed  February  27, 

1867,  provided  that  no  person,  male  or  female,  could  be  em- 
ployed as  a  teacher  in  any  of  the  public  schools  until  he  or 
she  had  taken  the  test-oath.  Another  illustration  of  the  blind 
rage  of  this  Legislature  is  found  in  a  solemnly  enacted  law  that 
no  Virginian  should  be  permitted  to  collect  a  debt  due  to  him 
from  any  citizen  of  this  state  :  the  benefits  of  the  act,  how- 
ever, were  to  accrue  only  to  the  loyal  people  and  any  person  who 
coukl  not  take  the  test-oath  might  be  sued  by  a  citizen  of 
Virginia  in  the  old-fashioned  wayc 

On  the  25th  of  February,  1867,  a  new  act  was  passed  for  the 
registration  of  voters  and  the  former  one  was  repealed.  This 
may  have  beertdone  through  some  apprehension  lest  the  act  of 
1866  might  be  set  aside  because  of  its  having  been  passed  be- 
fore the  ratification  of  the  amendment  to  the  Constitution. 
The  new  law  was  more  stringent  in  its  obnoxious  features 
than  the  old  one  had  been.  If  the  registrar  *'  doubted  the 
loyalty  "  of  any  applicant  for  registration,  he  required  him  to 
take  the  test-oath  ;  but  this  was  not  to  be  considered  conclu- 
sive.    The  applicant  was  required  to  ''make  it  appear  that 


268  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

he  is  (was)  a  qualified  voter,"  but  if  he  failed  so  to  make  it 
appear,  his  application  was  rejected.  He  might  then  apj)eal 
to  the  board  and  try  to  ^'  make  it  appear  "  that  he  was  entitled 
to  registration,  but  such  appeals  were  usually  in  vain.  The 
members  of  the  board  might  also,  upon  their  own  motion, 
strike  off  the  name  of  any  registered  voter  whom  they  might 
think  not  entitled  to  vote — a  power  which  they  exercised  freely 
and  without  scruple.  The  citizen  who  was  summoned  to 
show  cause  why  his  name  should  not  be  stricken  from  the  list 
of  registered  voters  might  as  well  abandon  hope  at  once. 
How  could  he  make  his  right  appear  '^  to  the  satisfaction  of '^ 
a  tribunal  by  which  he  was  condemned  already?  If  the 
board  of  registration  said  "  we  doubt  your  loyalty,''  of  what 
avail  was  the  testimony  of  witnesses  on  behalf  of  the  accused  ? 
In  some  instances  honorably  discharged  soldiers  of  the  Union 
army  were  disfranchised  because  they  voted  against  the 
faction  in  power,  and  the  boards  of  registration  therefore 
*'  doubted  their  loyalty."  It  was  a  matter  of  party  necessity 
to  keep  down  the  growing  strength  of  the  opposition,  and 
behind  the  registrars  and  boards  of  registration,  goading  them 
ou  in  the  work  of  disfranchisement,  loomed  the  awful  form 
of  the  Governor  who  was  either  a  candidate  for  re-election  or 
for  a  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 

The  Legislature  of  1867  left  but  little  in  the  way  of  pro- 
scription and  intolerance  to  be  enacted  by  its  successor  in  1868. 
But  on  the  2nd  of  March,  in  the  latter  year,  it  was  enacted 
that  no  interest  upon  any  debt  contracted  prior  to  the  1st  day 
of  April,  1865,  should  be  recoverable  in  any  action  for  the 
time  durintr  which  the  creditor  had  been  within  the  Confcd- 
erate  lines.  It  was  also  enacted  that  no  suit  or  action,  civil 
or  criminal,  should  be  maintained  against  any  person  "  for 
any  act  done  in  the  suppression  of  the  late  rebellion."  The 
registration  law  was  amended  so  as  to  provide  for  the  punish- 
ment of  boards  of  registration  who  had  stricken  oif  names 
improperly;  an  abuse  of  power  which  had  become  so  serious 
and  so  flagrant  as  to  alarm  even  a  Republican  Legislature. 
A  joint  resolution  was  passed  declaring  that  *^\ndrew  John- 
son, President  of  the  United  States,  in  the  attempted  removal 
of  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  the  designation  of  the  Adjutant 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  WEST  VIRGINIA.  269 

General  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  office  ad  interim^  the 
Senate  being  in  session^  has  been  guilty  of  a  wilful  and  fla- 
grant violation  of  law,  and  in  the  opinion  of  the  Legislature 
of  West  Virginia,  ought  to  be  impeached  for  high  crimes  and 
misdemeanors."  The  Governor  was  authorized  to  tender  to 
Congress  the  assistance  of  West  Virginia  in  sustaining  the 
authority  and  enforcing  the  laws  of  the  United  States. 

A  special  session  of  the  Legislature  was  held  commencing 
in  June,  1868,  and  continuing  during  the  remainder  of  the 
year.  The  chief  business  transacted  was  the  adoption  of  a 
code  which  gathered  into  a  compact  and  convenient  form  the 
scattered  enactments  of  the  past  five  years.  Very  little  politi- 
cal legislation  was  attempted.  The  registration  act  was  further 
amended  so  as  to  provide  that  no  person  whose  name  had 
been  stricken  from  the  list  by  the  board  of  registration  could 
afterwards  be  registered,  except  by  consent  of  the  board.  A 
number  of  special  acts  were  passed  permitting  attorneys  to 
practice  law  without  taking  the  test-oath  ;  and  one  was  passed 
to  permit  a  young  lady  to  teach  school  without  taking  the 
oath,  but  in  this  case  the  Legislature  cautiously  and  prudently 
reserved  the  right  to  alter  or  repeal  the  act  whenever  in  their 
discretion  they  might  think  proper  to  do  so — evidently  in- 
tending to  recall  the  magnanimous  act  if  the  young  lady 
should  dare  to  engage  a  second  time  in  armed  rebellion 
against  'Uhe  reorganized  government  of  Virginia,''  &c. 

At  the  state  election  held  in  the  fall  of  1868,  there  were 
26,885  Republican  votes,  as  against  21,698  conservative  and 
Democratic. 

In  1869  a  number  of  acts  for  the  relief  of  attorneys  were 
passed,  and  on  the  7th  of  February,  1870,  the  act  requiring 
attorneys  to  take  the  test-oath  was  formally  and  finally 
repealed.  The  Legislature  in  1870,  also  repealed  the  act 
which  required  the  petitioner  for  a  rehearing  to  take  the  test- 
oath  when  decree  had  been  rendered  against  him  in  his 
absence  and  w^ithout  personal  service  of  process.  The  same 
Legislature  proposed  what  was  afterwards  known  as  ^'  the 
Flick  Amendment,"  from  the  name  of  its  patron,  restoring 
the  constitutional  provision  as  to  the  qualifications  of  voters 
to  the  terms  originally  embodied  in  Section  1,  Article  3,  of 


270  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

the  Constitution  of  1863,  omitting  the  word  '^  white."  This 
was  the  last  Legislature  in  which  the  Republican  party  had  a 
majority,  for,  at  the  election  held  in  October,  1870,  the  Demo- 
cratic and  Conservative  party  carried  the  state  casting  28,020 
votes  as  against  20,475  given  for  the  Republican  nominees.  It 
Avill  be  observed  that  the  Republican  vote  was  only  410  less 
than  that  in  1868,  which  was  the  highest  point  it  had  ever 
reached.  It  was  larger  than  that  of  1864  or  1866,  the  period 
during  which  all  of  the  odious  and  oppressive  legislation  had 
been  had;  the  period  during  which  an  aggressive  and  un- 
scrupulous minority  of  the  people  of  the  state  had  been 
enabled  to  rule  the  majority  with  an  iron  hand. 

From  first  to  last  there  was  expended  for  the  expenses  of 
the  regfstration  of  voters  and  for  the  defense  of  suits  instituted 
against  registrars  and  boards  of  registration  the  sum  of  $53,- 
200,  not  including  the  sums  expended  from  the  Governor's 
contingent  fund  the  items  of  which  were  not  made  ]niblic. 
Nor  does  this  total  include  $500,  which  was  paid  to  William 
Ware  Peck,  a  lawyer  who  was  imported  from  somewhere  in 
New  York,  to  assist  the  Attorney-General  in  excluding 
native  attorneys  from  practicing  their  profession. 

The  acts  of  the  Legislatures  in  West  Virginia,  to  which 
attention  has  been  directed  in  the  preceding  pages,  were 
mainly  those  relating  to  the  right  to  vote,  but  tlie  acts  affect- 
ing the  property  rights  of  the  ex-confederates  w^ere,  periiaps, 
more  severely  felt.  In  accordance  with  the  terms  of  an  act 
passed  February  28th,  1865,  no  person  could  bring  suit  or 
obtain  process  in  any  court  without  being  required  to  take  the 
test-oath  if  it  was  demanded  by  the  defendant.  Tliis  com- 
pletely closed  the  courts  against  any  Southern  soldier  who 
sought  redress  for  injuries  or  for  the  collection  of  a  just  and 
valid  debt.  During  the  later  years  of  the  war,  a  great  many 
suits  had  been  instituted  against  persons  who  were  within  the 
lines  of  the  Confederate  army.  Proceedings  were  had  by 
order  of  publication  and  when  the  defendants  failed  to  appear 
attachment  was  issued  and  property  was  seized.  As  the  gen- 
eral law  relating  to  attachments  and  suits  against  non-residents 
then  stood,  the  party  against  whom  these  summary  proceed- 
ings were  had  might  come  into  court  at  any  time  within  five 


EECOXSTKUCTIOX  IN  WEST  VIEGINIA.  271 

years  and  file  his  petition  asking  that  the  judgment,  order  or 
decree  obtained  by  deiault  of  appearance  might  be  set  aside  and 
a  hearing  had  as  to  the  matters  in  controversy.  But  to  the 
ill-starred  ex-confederate  was  conceded  no  such  right.  Only 
the  man  who  could  take  the  test-oath  was  permitted  to  have 
his  case  reheard.  Thus  the  soldier  who  came  back,  after  the 
surrendei  at  Appomattox,  and  found  his  property  in  the  hands 
of  strangers,  could  not  only  not  sue,  he  could  not  make  de- 
fense to  the  action  which  had  been  brought  against  him  in  his 
absence  and  without  his  knowledge.  But  this  was  not  all. 
If  any  property  remained  to  him,  he  became  a  target  for 
what  were  known  as  "war  trespass  suits,''  and  judgments  were 
piled  up  against  him,  as  fast  as  courts  could  render  them,  at 
the  demand  of  importunate  suitors.  If,  during  a  raid  of 
Confederate  soldiers  within  the  borders  of  West  Virginia, 
while  the  war  was  in  progress,  the  cattle  or  horses  or  goods 
of  any  loyal  citizen  were  seized  for  the  use  of  the  army,  and 
consumed  or  carried  away,  the  person  so  injured  brought  a 
*Svar  trespass  suit"  against  any  ex-rebel  he  could  find  who 
had  any  property  left.  It  was  not  at  all  necessary  that  the 
defendant  should  have  been  one  of  the  company  or  squad  who 
captured  the  goods ;  it  was  not  necessary  that  he  should  have 
been  present  in  any  capacity  at  the  time  when  and  place  where 
the  offense  was  committed;  it  was  not  necessary  that  he  should 
have  been  in  the  confederate  service  at  all ;  judgment  was  in- 
variably rendered  against  him  for  whatever  amount  a  "loyal" 
jury  might  assess.  For  the  greater  convenience  of  plaintiffs 
and  for  the  greater  certainty  of  obtaining  judgment  in  cases 
of  this  kind,  it  was  provided  that  suits  for  causes  of  action 
arising  in  certain  counties  where  Southern  sentiment  prevailed 
might  be  brought  in  other  counties  where  popular  opinion 
against  injustice  was  not  so  strong.  As  has  been  already 
stated,  no  person  could  sit  on  a  jury  without  having  taken  the 
test-oath,  but  it  was  feared  that  juries  might  be  overawed  or 
influenced  by  the  indignation  of  their  neighbors,  and  hence 
the  trespass  suits  were  generally  brought  remote  from  the 
home  of  the  defendant,  in  some  county  where  the  Republi- 
cans were  aggressive  and  had  full  control,  and  were  still  car- 
rying on  the  w^ar. 


272  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

The  condition  of  the  ex-Confederate  soldier  in  West  Vir- 
ginia during  the  five  years  which  immediately  followed  the 
end  of  the  war,  was,  therefore,  reduced  to  this  :  He  was  de- 
nied citizenship  in  the  place  of  his  birth  ;  he  could  not  hold 
office;  he  could  not  vote;  he  could  not  practice  law;  he  could 
not  sit  as  a  juror ;  he  could  not  teach  school ;  he  could  not  sue 
in  the  courts  ;  he  could  not  make  defense  to  suits  brought 
against  him  in  his  absence,  and  at  least  one  of  the  circuit 
judges  held  that  he  could  not  qualify  as  an  executor  or  ad- 
ministrator, and  hence  when  he  died  he  must  commit  to  a 
Republican  neighbor  for  distribution,  whatever  estate  he  had 
been  able  to  save  from  the  rapacity  of  those  who  had  sued 
him  for  offenses  for  which  he  was  not  guilty. 

But  the  student  of  these  legislative  acts  may  w^ell  inquire: 
Where  were  the  courts  during  all  this  period  and  why  were 
they  not  invoked  to  pi'otect  the  ])eo[)le  ?  The  answer  is  found 
in  the  first  five  volumes  of  West  Virginia  Reports.  The 
courts  went  hand  in  hand  with  the  Legislature;  whatever 
one  did  the  other  pronounced  good.  There  is  not  a  single 
instance  during  all  the  period  between  18G3  and  1870  in 
wdiich  an  act  or  a  section  of  an  act,  passed  by  the  Legislature, 
was  pronounced  unconstitutional  .by  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Appeals.  There  were  plenty  of  cases ;  the  power  of  the 
court  W' as  very  frequently  invoked;  but  no  ex-Confederate 
was  ever  relieved  from  the  unjust  judgment  which  had  been 
rendered  against  him  in  the  inferior  tribunals.  The  Circuit 
Courts  were  completely  under  the  control  of  the  Legislature. 
One  circuit  judge  was  impeached  and  removed  from  office  be- 
cause he  had  appointed  an  ex-Confederate  to  be  the  temporary 
sheriff  of  one  of  the  counties  in  his  circuit ;  another  w^as  im- 
peached and  removed  because  he  had  permitted  three  distin- 
guished lawyers  to  practice  in  his  courts  without  taking  the 
Attorney's  test-oath.  Other  judges  took  wai'ning  and  treated 
the  legislative  body  with  marked  deference.  The  several 
statutes  imposing  disabilities  upon  the  returned  Confederates 
were,  one  after  the  other,  as  they  came  under  review  by  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Appeals,  sustained,  and  these  decisions 
were  many  times  repeated  during  the  vears  between  1866 
and  1871. 


EECONSTEUCTION  IN  WEST  VIRGINIA.  273 

In  William  Stratton's  case,  (1  W.  Ya.,  305),  the  court  sus- 
tained the  constitutionality  of  the  test-oath  for  officers. 

In  Lively  vs,  Ballard,  (2  W.  Va.,  496),  the  court  sustained 
the  constitutionality  of  the  test-oath  for  jurors. 

In  Randolph  vs.  Good,  (3  W.  Ya.,  551),  the  act  of  Febru- 
ary 25,  1865,  requiring  voters  to  take  the  test-oath,  passed 
before  the  Constitution  of  1863  had  been  amended,  was  de- 
clared constitutional  by  the  court. 

In  ex  parte  Hunter  et  al,  {2  W.  Va.,  122),  the  court  af- 
firmed the  constitutionality  of  the  test-oath  for  attorneys. 

In  Higgiubotham  vs.  Haselden  &  Rohrbaugh,  (3  W.  Ya., 
17),  the  court  sustained  the  validity  of  the  test-oath  for  suitors, 
and  extended  its  operation  to  the  right  of  obtaining  an  appeal, 
writ  of  error  or  supersedeas. 

The  decision  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
in  "The  Prize  Cases,''  at  December  term,  1862  (2  Black., 
635),  was  generally  understood  by  the  members  of  the  legal 
profession  as  conceding  to  the  armies  of  the  Confederate 
States,  "belligerent  rights."  This  construction  was  amply 
sustained  by  many  subsequent  decisions  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  in  which  reference  was  made  to  the  cases  rcentioned. 
(97  U.  S.,  594,605  ;  100  U.  S.,  158  and  cases  cited.)  It  was 
a  concession  made  necessary  by  the  dictates  of  humanity  and 
civilization  in  view  of  the  magnitude  of  the  war  and  its  long 
duration.  Under  the  doctrine  of  "belligerent  rights," 
neither  of  the  combatants  can  afterwards  be  held  liable, 
either  civilly  or  criminally,  for  any  act  done  "  in  accordance 
w^ith  the  usages  of  civilized  warfare.''  But  the  decisions  of 
the  Supreme  Court  in  this  regard  were  nullified  in  West  Yir- 
ginia.  Again  and  again  was  the  plea  of  belligerent  rights 
tendered  in  bar  of  the  trespass  suits  which  sprang  up  plenti- 
fully against  the  returned  soldiers  of  the  Southern  cause,  and 
as  often  was  the  plea  overruled  and  the  doctrine  denied.  The 
following  are  a  few  of  the  cases  in  which  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Appeals  in  West  Yirginia  reversed  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States  upon  this  question  alone  :  Hedges  v.  Price, 
2  W.  Ya.,  192  ;  Cunningham  v.  Pitzer,  Idem,  267  ;  Lively  Vo 
Ballard,  Idem,  496;  Echols  v.  Staunton,  3  W.  Ya., 
574 ;    Caperton   v.    Martin,    4    W.  Ya.,    138 ;     French  v, 

18 


274  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

White,  Idem,  170;  Caperton  i\  Nickell,  7Ja?i,  173;  Caperton 
V.  Bowyer,  Idem,  176;  Carskadou  v.  Johnson, /Jem,  356  ; 
Caperton  v,  Ballard,  Idem,  420.  Commenting  u])on  some  of 
these  cases,  the  learned  reporter  of  the  American  Decisions, 
Vol.  94,  p.  325,  remarks  :  '^  The  court  seems  rather  to  have 
been  actuated  by  a  desire  to  exhibit  its  patriotism  than 
to  consider  the  question  presented  to  it  calmly  and  judiciously 
and  to  give  its  decision  accordingly.'' 

In  the  case  of  Hood  et  al.  v.  Maxwell,  (1  W.  Va.  219)  the 
owner  of  a  mill  in  Barbour  county  sued  Hood,  who  was  a 
commissary  of  Virginia  troops  acting  under  the  orders  of 
Governor  Letcher,  ibr  the  value  of  a  lot  of  flour  taken  for 
the  use  of  the  troops  in  1861.  The  cause  of  action  arose  in 
Barbour  county,  but  the  case  was  tried  in  Marion  county  and 
a  judgment  was  rendered  for  §1516.25.  A  writ  of  error  was 
taken  and  the  Supreme  Court  of  Appeals  affirmed  the  judg- 
ment in  1866.  The  sixth  point  in  the  syllabus  is  as  follows  : 
"  No  state  in  the  Union  has  a  constitutional  right  to  secede 
from  it.'' 

Ashby's  cavalry  came  into  the  village  of  Hardscrabble  in 
Berkeley  county  on  the  10th  of  September,  1861.  Henry 
Shepherd  and  John  Shepherd  were  private  citizens  residing 
in  the  neighborhood  and  not  in  any  manner  engaged  in  the 
Confederate  service.  Ashby's  men  seized  the  goods  in  a 
store  belonging  to  A.  K.  McQuilkin,  and  Abraham  Shep- 
herd, one  of  the  cavalrymen,  gave  to  his  father,  Henry 
Shepherd,  an  umbrella  taken  from  the  store.  Another  of 
the  soldiers  gave  to  John  Shepherd  a  straw  hat.  Suit  was 
instituted  against  Henry  Shepherd  and  John  Shepherd  and 
judgment  obtained  for  §500,  the  value  of  all  the  goods  taken, 
and  this  judgment  was  aflirmed  by  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Appeals. 

John  Cunningham  was  sued  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  Berkeley 
county  by  H.  B.  Pitzer,  for  taking  and  carrying  away  two 
hundred  bushels  of  wheat  belonging  to  the  plaintiff.  It 
was  shown  that  the  wheat  was  taken  by  the  Confederate 
army,  and  threshed  on  Cunningham's  machine,  and  that 
Cunningham  was  forced  by  the  soldiers  to  assist  in  thresh-  , 
ing  the  wheat.     Judgment  was  rendered    against  Cunning- 


EECOXSTRUCTION  IN  WEST  VIRGINIA.  275 

ham  for  §287,  with  interest  from  the  26th  day  of  August, 
1864;  and  the  judgment  was  affirmed. 

On  the  24th  of  October,  1862,  a  man  named  Mace  took 
from  Maiden,  in  Kanawha  county,  thirty  barrels  of  oil  be- 
longing to  J.  G.  &  J.  M.  Staunton.  Mace  was  acting  under 
orders  of  E.  McMahon,  then  acting  as  Chief  Quartermaster 
of  the  Confederate  army  commanded  by  General  W.  W. 
Loring,  and  there  w^as  evidence  tending  to  show  that  the 
oil  was  seized  by  order  of  Loring,  issued  while  in  com- 
mand. On  the  15th  of  October,  General  Loring  was  re- 
lieved of  command,  and  General  John  Echols  was  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  army  in  the  Kanawha  valley.  The  oil 
was  taken  away  and  delivered  to  Thomas  L.  Broun,  at 
Dublin  Depot,  for  the  use  of  the  Confederate  government, 
Broun  being  then  a  quartermaster  in  the  Confederate  army. 
In  July,  1865,  the  Stauntons  instituted  suit  in  Kanawha 
county  against  John  Echols  for  $1935,  the  value  of  the 
oil  so  taken  and  carried  away.  Judgment  was  rendered  for 
$1935,  and  that  judgment  was  affirmed  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Appeals. 

On  the  28th  day  of  October,  1862,  Nicholas  Martin  was 
arrested  in  Monroe  county,  by  Confederate  soldiers,  and  taken 
as  a  prisoner  to  Richmond.  In  June,  J  866,  Martin  instituted 
suit  for  illegal  arrest  and  false  imprisonment  against  Allen  T. 
Caperton  who  had  been  Provost  Marslial  of  the  Confederate 
forces  in  Monroe  county  at  the  time  of  the  arrest.  The  de- 
fendant plead  the  statute  of  limitations  in  force  in  Virginia 
when  the  offense  was  committed,  '^  belligerent  rights,"  and  a 
pardon  of  the  President  of  the  United  States.  The  case  was 
tried  in  November,  1867,  and  judgment  was  rendered  against 
Caperton  for  $600,  and  this  judgment  was  affirmed  by  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Appeals,  at  the  January  term  in  1870. 

On  the  28th  of  November,  1864,  General  Rosser's  brigade 
of  Confederate  soldiers  took  the  town  of  New  Creek,  then  a 
military  post  of  the  United  States,  fortified  and  garrisoned  by 
about  1200  troops  under  command  of  Colonel  Latham,  most 
of  whom  were  captured,  although  some  fled  and  escaped. 
Among  the  prisoners  taken  was  John  R.  Carskadon,  a  farmer 
living  in  the  neighborhood,  a  Union  man  but  not  in  the 


276  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

service.  He  was  held  as  a  hostage  for  James  Parker,  also  a 
non-combatant,  who  had  been  arrested  by  United  States 
soldiers  some  time  before,  and  was  then  confined  in  the  mili- 
tary prison  at  Wheeling.  In  1865,  Carskadon  instituted  suit 
for  trespass,  and  assault  and  battery  against  George  H.  John- 
son, who  was  a  private  soldier  in  Kosser's  command  and  one 
of  the  squad  who  made  the  arrest.  Tiie  Circuit  Court  sus- 
tained a  demurrer  to  the  evidence,  but  this  decision  was  over- 
ruled by  the  Supreme  Court  of  Appeals,  in  1870,  and  judg- 
ment rendered  against  Johnson  for  §450. 

The  foregoing  are  merely  samples  selected  at  random  from 
the  cases  reported  in  the  first  five  volumes  of  the  West  A^ir- 
ginia  Reports.  The  appealed  cases  were  not  a  tenth  of  the 
whole  number  of  these  trespass  suits  which  were  successfully 
prosecuted  in  the  Circuit  Courts.  Nearly  every  ex-Confed- 
erate soldier  was  financially  ruined  by  them,  and  even  if  he 
had  no  property  out  of  which  the  judgment  might  be  then 
satisfied,  the  -judgments  stood  upon  the  dockets  as  a  lien 
against  all  that  he  might  thereafter  by  diligence  and  economy 
acquire. 

Before  dismissing  this  part  of  the  subject,  the  professional 
reader  may  feel  some  interest  in  learning  what  became  of 
these  judgments  obtained  by  ''war  trespass  suits,"  when  the 
minority  was  hurled  from  power  in  W^est  Virginia  and  the 
people  assumed  the  right  to  govern  themselves.  Article  VII. 
of  the  Constitution  adopted  in  1872,  section  35,  is  in  these 
words  : 

"No  citizen  of  this  state  who  aided  or  participated  in  the 
late  war  between  the  government  of  the  United  States  and  a 
part  of  the  people  thereof,  on  either  side,  shall  be  liable  in 
any  proceeding,  civil  or  criminal ;  nor  shall  his  property  be 
seized  or  sold  under  final  process  issued  upon  judgments  or 
decrees  heretofore  rendered,  or  otherwise,  because  of  any  act 
done  in  accordance  with  the  usages  of  civilized  warfare  in  the 
prosecution  of  said  war  by  either  of  the  parties  thereto.  The 
Legislature  shall  provide,  by  general  laws,  for  giving  full 
force  and  effect  to  this  section  by  due  process  of  law." 

The  Legislature  at  the  sessions  of  1872-73,  provided  that 
upon  the  filing  of  a  petition  setting  forth  the  fact  thata  judg- 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  WEST  YIEGINIA.  277 

ment  or  decree  had  been  rendered  against  the  petitioner  for 
acts  done  in  accordance  with  the  usages  of  civilized  warfare, 
such  judgment  or  decree  should  be  set  aside  and  a  new  trial 
awarded,  but  the  Supreme  Court  of  Appeals  in  Peerce  vs. 
Kitziniller  (1 9  W.  Va.,  564),  held  that  this  mode  of  pro- 
cedure was  not  "  due  process  of  law,^'  but  it  also  held  that 
the  relief  sought  for  might  be  obtained  by  a  proceeding  in 
chancery  for  an  injunction  against  the  execution  of  the  original 
judgment  and  that  this  would  be  "  due  process  of  law."  The 
mode  of  procedure  thus  indicated  was  pursued  and  the 
judgments  and  decrees  complained  of  were  set  aside  by  the 
Circuit  Courts.  The  action  of  the  Circuit  Courts  in  thus 
setting  aside  these  judgments  was  in  several  cases  appealed 
from  and  sustained  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  Appeals. 
David  Freeland  had  recovered  a  judgment  in  1865,  against 
Joseph  V.  AYilliams  for  $1,110,  for  cattle  carried  away  for 
the  use  of  the  Confederate  army,  and  this  judgment  had  been 
affirmed  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  Appeals  at  the  July  term 
in  1867.  The  judgment  remained  unsatisfied,  and  in  August, 
1883,  Williams  filed  a  bill  in  chancery  praying  that  the 
judgment  be  declared  void  and  that  Freeland  be  perpetually 
enjoined  from  collecting  the  same.  The  relief  prayed  for  was 
granted  by  the  Circuit  Court  and  Freeland  then  presented  to 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Appeals  a  petition  for  appeal  in  the 
manner  provided  by  law,  which  petition  was  refused,  and 
thereupon  Freeland  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States.  On  the  13th  of  May,  1889,  the  opinion  of 
that  court  was  handed  down  by  Mr.  Justice  Miller,  in  which 
it  is  held  that  the  provision  in  the  West  Virginia  Constitu- 
tion of  1872,  in  relation  to  judgments  or  decrees  rendered 
because  of  acts  done  accordino;  to  the  usages  of  civilized 
warfare  '^does  not  impair  the  obligation  of  a  contract  within 
the  meaning  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  when 
applied  to  a  judgment  previously  obtained,  founded  upon  a 
tort  committed  as  an  act  of  public  war.''  Also  that  ^'a  bill 
in  equity  to  invalidate  a  judgment  obtained  against  the  de- 
fendant for  a  tort  committed  under  military  authority,  in 
accordance  with  the  usages  of  civilized  warfare  and  as  an  act 
of  public  war  and  to  also  enjoin  its  enforcement  is  '  due  pro- 


278  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

cess  of  law/  and  is  not  in  conflict  with  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States."     (131  U.  8.,  405.) 

A  full  report  of  the  action  of  tlie  courts  in  relation  to  the 
attorney's  test-oath  would  be  too  voluminous  for  the  purposes 
of  this  chapter.     A  few  cases  must  suffice. 

Andrew  Hunter,  Samuel  Price,  W.  S.  Summers,  Samuel 
Miller  and  Caleb  Boggess  applied  to  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Appeals,  at  its  July  term,  in  1866,  for  permission  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  practice  law  without  being  required  to  take  the  test- 
oath  for  attorneys  provided  by  the  act  of  the  I^egislature, 
passed  February  14th,  18GG.  Several  of  tlie  a])plicants  pro- 
duced pardons  signed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
The  questions  involved  were  elaborately  argued  pro  and  co?i., 
and  the  Court  took  time  to  consider.  At  the  January  term, 
1867,  the  decision  was  announced,  denying  the  application. 
The  syllabus  declares  that  the  act  imposing  the  oath  is  not 
unconstitutional,  and  that  a  pardon  from  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment cannot  remove  a  disability  imposed  by  the  laws  of  West 
Virginia.  (2  W,Va.,  122.)  The  opinion  in  the  case  occu- 
pies forty-six  pages  of  the  volume  of  reports.  Shortly  before 
this  decision  was  announced  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  had  handed  down  its  opinion  in  the  Garland  case  (4 
Wallace,  333),  in  which  an  act  of  Congress  passed  January 
24,  1865,  prescribing  a  test-oath  for  attorneys  practicing  in 
the  Federal  court  was  held  to  be  ex  j^ost  facto,  and,  there- 
fore, in  violation  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
and  null  and  void.  This  decision,  by  the  highest  court  in 
the  United  States,  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Judge 
who  had  already  prepared  his  opinion  denying  the  petition 
of  the  attorneys,  and,  not  willing  that  so  much  labor  should 
be  thrown  away,  the  learned  Judge  added  a  few  lines  to  the 
essay,  remarking,  "After  a  careful  examination  of  that  deci- 
sion, as  furnished,  I  am  constrained  to  adhere  to  the  opinion 
already  advanced,"  This  performance  so  delighted  the  parti- 
san majority  in  the  Legislature,  then  in  session,  that  it,  by 
joint  resolution,  ordered  five  thousand  copies  of  the  opinion  to 
be  printed  in  pamphlet  form  for  distribution  by  the  members. 

As  late  as  January,  1870,  William  A.  Quarrier  and  Nich- 
olas Fitzhugh  applied  for  admission  to  practice  without  taking 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  WEST  VIRGINIA.  279 

the  test-oath,  and  produced  pardons  signed  by  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  but  the  application  was  denied,  the 
Court  holding  that,  although  the  President's  pardon  might 
entitle  the  attorney  to  practice  in  the  Federal  courts,  it  could 
not  restore  to  him  the  right  to  practice  in  the  courts  of  West 
Virginia.  (4  W.  Ya.,  210.)  In  this  case  Edwin  M.  Stanton, 
'Hhe  great  War  Secretary,"  appeared  in  opposition  to  the 
prayer  of  the  petitioners,  and  harangued  the  Court  for  an 
hour  upon  the  theme  that  rebels  had  no  rights  which  loyal 
men  should  respect.  It  was  an  appeal  which  Judge  Nash, 
of  Ohio,  himself  an  ardent  Republican,  pronounced  a  dis- 
grace to  the  distinguished  man  who  had  uttered  it,  and  a 
shame  to  the  Court  that  had  listened  to  it  without  rebuke. 

The  action  of  the*  Circuit  and  District  Courts  of  tlie 
United  States  in  West  Virginia  was  in  honorable  contrast 
with  that  of  the  state  judiciary.  A  great  many  indictments 
for  treason  were  found  by  the  grand  juries,  but  not  one  of 
them  ever  came  to  trial.  They  were  continued  from  term  to 
term,  in  anticipation  of  the  subsidence  of  popular  prejudice 
and  passion,  and  eventually  all  were  dismissed.  The  returned 
confederates  took  the  oath  of  amnesty  required  by  the  Presi- 
dent's proclamation  of  May  29th,  1865,  and  were  no  further 
molested  by  the  Federal  authorities.  Attorneys  who  were 
debarred  from  appearing  in  the  state  courts  met  with  no  ob- 
stacle to  the  resumption  of  practice  in  the  tribunals  of  the 
United  States,  the  state  authorities  being  much  more  fierce 
and  vindictive  in  the  punishment  of  rebellion  against  the 
United  States  than  was  the  power  against  which  the  offense 
was  mainly  committed. 

But  no  history  of  the  reconstruction  period  in  West  Vir- 
ginia would  be  complete  without  some  reference  to  the  part 
played  by  Nathaniel  Harrison,  Judge  of  the  Seventh  Judi- 
cial Circuit.  This  circuit  embraced  the  counties  of  Green- 
brier, Nicholas,  Monroe  and  Pocahontas.  It  has  a  large 
area  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state  and  nearly  all  of  the 
inhabitants  were  either  in  active  service  in  the  Confederate 
Army  or  aided  and  abetted  the  Southern  cause.  During  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  period  of  the  ^var  the  counties 
mentioned  were  within  the  lines  of  the  Confederate  Army. 


280  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Of  course,  public  sentiment  was  overwhelmingly  Southern. 
In  these  counties  the  registration  law  displayed  its  full 
power  and  operated  in  all  its  beauty.  Enough  men 
were  found  or  imported  who,  by  the  help  of  an  imper- 
fect memory  or  a  flexible  conscience  could,  or  rather 
did,  take  the  test-oath  and  hold  all  the  offices.  Occasionally 
the  registrar  would  "doubt  the  loyalty  "  of  one  of  the  regis- 
tered voters  and  strike  his  name  from  the  list,  and  thereby 
render  him  incapable  of  holding  office,  when  all  of  the 
official  power  and  perquisites  he  possessed  would  be  parceled 
out  amono;  the  remnant  of  the  faithful.  In  the  town  of 
Lewisburg  so  many  names  had  been  from  time  to  time  erased 
from  the  list  that  the  registrar  gained  the  soubriquet  of  "  Old 
Scratch,"  by  which  he  was  commonly  known,  and  the  voting 
population  had  been  reduced  to  seven  :  "  Old  Scratch"  and 
his  son,  two  Irishmen  and  three  negroes.  The  registrar  held 
nine  petty  offices.  Of  this  circuit  Nathaniel  Harrison  was 
appointed  Judge  in  1865  by  the  Governor  of  the  state.  Har- 
rison was  descended  from  a  good  family  in  Virginia  and  had 
resided  several  years  in  Philadelphia  just  before  the  war.  He 
was  a  man  of  more  than  usual  mental  ability  and  was  well 
versed  in  the  law.  Some  time  after  the  opening  of  the  war 
he  went  through  the  lines  and  appeared  in  Richmond.  He 
solicited  appointment  on  the  staff  of  General  Chapman  of 
the  Virginia  militia  ;  not  getting  this  he  sought  position  in 
the  quartermaster's  department  of  the  Confederate  Army  ; 
not  succeeding  in  this  he  sought  employment  in  the  bureau 
of  exchange  of  prisoners  of  war  and  again  failed  of  success. 
Disappointed  and  soured  and  attributing  his  ill  success  to  the 
opposing  influence  of  Allen  T.  Caperton,  who  Avas  at  that 
time  a  member  of  the  Confederate  States  Senate,  he  drifted 
into  Monroe  county  where  his  wife  owned  the  Salt  Sulphur 
Springs  property,  and  where  he  continued  to  reside  until  his 
appointment  as  Judge.  Not  thinking  it  probable  that  his 
record  would  ever  be  brought  up  against  him  when  possessed 
of  the  power  of  oppression  which  the  office  would  give  him, 
he  took  the  test-oath,  entered  upon  his  duties  as  Judge,  and 
straightway  out-Heroded  Herod  in  his  persecution  of  the 
returned    Confederates.     He   seems   to  have  been  especially 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  WEST  VIRGINIA.  281 

determined  to  ruin  Mr.  Caperton  against  whom  he  instigated 
and  de<3ided  not  less  than  a  hundred  trespass  suits.  In  every 
county  in  the  circuit  he  breathed  forth  threatenin^s  and 
slaughter  and  spread  consternation  and  dismay.  He  was 
notoriously  licentious  in  his  mode  of  life  and  it  soon  became 
known  that  he  was  also  corruptible  in  the  administration  of 
his  public  office.  But  his  persecution  of  the  ex-rebels  won 
for  him  the  high  regard  of  the  state  Government  and  the  en- 
thusiastic admiration  of  the  Legislature.  The  Supreme 
Court  of  Appeals  at  that  time  consisted  of  three  judges,  and 
the  law  provided  that  when  any  one  of  the  three  was  absent 
by  reason  of  sickness,  or  was  in  any  other  way  incapacitated 
from  duty  in  court,  a  circuit  court  judge  should  be  called  in 
to  take  his  place.  Nat.  Harrison  made  it  convenient  to 
attend  at  many  of  the  sessions  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  and 
was  frequently  called  upon  to  sit  as  one  of  the  judges  of  that 
high  tribunal,  and  in  that  capacity  participated  in  rendering 
some  of  its  most  obnoxious  decisions.  In  January,  1866, 
Col.  Hounshell,  who  had  been  in  the  Confederate  service, 
went  to  the  seat  of  Government,  at  Wheeling,  where  the 
Legislature  was  sitting,  with  formal  charges  against  Harrison, 
accusing  him  of  disloyalty  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  maladministration  of  the  duties  of  his  office  and  per- 
jury. The  charges  were  presented  in  the  House  of  Delegates 
on  the  7th  day  of  February  by  Col.  Dan.  Johnson,  a  gallant 
and  honorably  discharged  soldier  of  the  Federal  Army,  who 
offered  a  joint  resolution  for  the  impeachment  of  the  accused 
in  the  manner  provided  by  law.  So  indignant  were  the  mem- 
bers that  an  ex-Confederate  officer,  who  did  not  come  "with 
bated  breath  and  whispering  humbleness/'  should  be  per- 
mitted thus  "  to  rail  upon  the  Lord's  anointed,"  that  Col. 
Hounshell,  who  was  in  the  lobby  of  the  House,  was  violently 
assaulted  by  three  or  four  stalwart  individuals  and  forcibly 
and  unceremoniously  kicked,  beaten  and  thrust  down  the 
stairs  and  out  of  the  building.  On  the  next  day  the  follow- 
ing resolutions,  here  copied  verbatim,  were  offered  and 
adopted  under  a  suspension  of  the  rules  : 

" Hesolved,  That  this  House  deplores  the  disorderly  scene  that  occurred 
in   the   hall  immediately   after   adjournment  last  evening,  gi'owing   out 


282  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

of  the  introduction  of  a  paper  vliich  was  deemed  by  tins  House  a 
malicious  atlempt  to  publicly  slander  one  of  the  circuit  judges  of  the  state, 
aggravated  by  the  haughty  bearing  and  insulting  language  of  the 
author  of  said  slanderous  paper  towards  the  members  of  this  House  while 
in  the  halb  The  sergeiint-at- arms  is  instructed  to  Le  vigilant  in  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  peace,  and  ejection  of  all  improper  persons  from  this  hall 
in  future." 

^' Resolced,  Tha.t  no  farther  action  be  taken  in  the  subject  of  the  said 
slanderous  paper,  but  to  return  it  to  its  author,  if  to  be  found,  through  the 
sergeant-at-arms." 

The  first  attempt  at  the  impeachment  of  Harrison  liaving 
thus  tragi -comically  failed,  he  went  back  to  his  circuit  with 
some  new  revenges  to  gratify  and  more  firmly  seated  than 
before.  He  owned  an  interest  in  a  little  weekly  newspaper 
called  the  3Ionroe  Republican,  and  he  required  all  legal 
advertisements  from  all  the  counties  in  his  circuit  to  be 
published  in  that  paper.  He  advised  litigants  to  employ 
a  particuhir  attorney  whom  he  favored  and  from  whom  he 
received  a  share  of  the  fees.  He  a]ii)ointed  a  receiver  of  the 
circuit  courts  of  Greenbrier  and  Monroe,  and  allowed  him 
a  commission  of  two  per  cent,  more  tlian  was  allowed 
by  law,  and  this  two  per  cent,  was  believed  to  be  the  per- 
quisite of  the  judge.  He  borrowed  for  his  own  use,  funds 
officially  held  by  the  receiver,  and  gave  no  security.  He 
signed  in  his  official  capacity,  the  petition  of  an  ex-Confeder- 
ate to  the  President  of  the  United  States  for  a  pardon,  and 
received  three  hundred  dollars  therefor.  He  took  jurisdic- 
tion of  cases  in  which  he  was  himself  a  party  interested.  He 
advised  the  defendant  in  an  action  brought  by  a  plaintiff 
whom  he  hated,  to  bring  the  case  on  for  trial  at  a  particular 
time  promising  to  have  a  special  jury  summoned  for  the  pur- 
pose of  finding  a  verdict  for  the  defendant. 

All  this  and  more.  He  was  openly  intemperate  and  lewd  ; 
wherever  he  went  he  sought  the  society  of  prostitutes,  aud  at 
nearly  every  })lace  of  holding  court  he  had  a  negro   mistress. 

By  the  grace  of  the  registrars  he  was  elected  in  1868,  his 
term  of  appointment  having  expired,  and  he  then  began  to 
punish  those  who  had  opposed  his  election.  A  clause  of  the 
Constitution  provided  that,  '^  No  person  except  citizens  en- 
titled to  vote,  shall  be  elected  or  appointed  to  any  state, 
county  or  municipal   office.'^     Accordingly   Judge  Harrison 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  WEST  VIRGINIA.  283 

directed  '^  Old  Scratch  '^  to  erase  from  the  list  of  reo-istered 
voters  the  names  of  Joel  McPhcrson,  clerk  of  the  circuit 
court  of  Greenbrier  County  ;  Wallace  Robinson,  sheriif  of 
said  county ;  G.  A.  Lewis,  recorder,  and  Alexander  Walker, 
a  supervisor  of  one  of  the  townships.  He  then  declared  the 
offices  of  these  several  gentlemen  vacant,  and  proceeded  to  make 
appointments  to  suit  himself.  The  outraged  officials  imme- 
diately appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  and  were  reinstated, 
but  for  some  time  after  the  order  of  the  Supreme  Court  had 
been  sent  down,  Harrison  refused  to  recognize  the  officers  thus 
restored. 

Alexander  Walker  who  was  a  Northern  man,  a  Republi- 
can, and  a  member  of  the  bar,  at  last  resolved  to  aid  in  a 
new  attempt  for  the  impeachment  of  the  judge.  He  was  col- 
lecting some  evidence  in  relation  to  the  matter  when,  on  the 
1 2th  of  January,  1870,  Harrison  cauie  into  couit  with  a  rule 
already  prepared  summoning  Walker  to  show  cause  why  he 
should  not  be  disbarred  for  un])rofessional  conduct,  in  soliciting 
affidavits  concerning  the  judge's  personal  habits.  Walker 
accepted  service  of  the  rule,  and  asked  that  he  be  allowed 
twenty-four  hours  in  wdiich  to  procure  an  affidavit  to  be  used 
in  his  defense.  The  judge  would  listen  to  no  delay  and  di- 
rected the  clerk  to  enter  at  once  an  order  which  had  been  pre- 
pared beforehand,  disbarring  Alexander  Walker,  and  revoking 
his  license  as  an  attorney.  Walker  went  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Appeals  and  the  order  was   reversed  and  annulled. 

By  this  time  the  Republican  party  in  the  state  found  Judge 
Nat.  Harrison  a  pretty  heavy  load  to  carry.  He  had  become 
a  stench  in  the  nostrils  of  decent  people  all  over  the  state  and 
his  infamies  could  be  no  longer  winked  at  or  brazenly  ig- 
nored. In  the  Legislature  of  1870,  the  storm  burst.  Arti- 
cles of  impeachment  with  specifications,  only  a  few  of  which 
have  been  referred  to  above,  were  adopted  in  both  Houses, 
and  the  judge  was  summoned  to  appear  for  trial  on  the  25th 
of  February.  Harrison  was  in  W^heeling,  where  the  Legisla- 
ture was  in  session,  when  the  joint  resolution  was  adopted, 
but  he  fled  from  the  state  in  order  to  escape  service  of  notice 
until  it  would  be  too  late  for  the  Legislature  to  proceed  with 
the  trial  at  that   session.     He  was  followed  to  Pittsburgh, 


284  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

where  he  was  found  Id  a  brothel  ;  the  notice  was  served  upon 
him  then  and  there;  he  returned  to  Wheeling  the  next  day; 
handed  to  the  Governor  his  resignation  of  the  office  of  Judge 
of  the  Seventh  Judicial  Circuit,  which  was,  perhaps  too 
promptly,  accepted  ;  and  his  name  appears  no  more  in  the 
history  of  West  A^irginia.  A  few  years  later  he  died  in  great 
destitution  at  Denver,  Colorado,  and  his  body  was  buried  by 
the  charity  of  the  members  of  the  bar. 

At  the  fall  election  in  1870,  the  Democrats  elected  the 
state  officers  and  a  majority  of  the  members  of  each  branch 
of  the  Legislature.  A  constitutional  convention  was  called, 
which  met  in  1872,  and  the  n^w  constitution  framed  by  it 
was  ratified  by  the  people,  in  October  of  that  year.  The  era 
of  proscription  having  passed,  an  era  of  prosperity  began. 

O.  S.  Long. 
W.  L.  Wii^ON. 


CHAPTER    X. 

RECONSTRUCTION  IN  MISSOURI. 

IT  may  be  fairly  assuraed  that  the  era  of  reconstruction,  so 
called,  began  in  Missouri,  on  February  13th,  1864,  when 
an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  providing  for  a  convention 
to  amend  the  State  Constitution  went  into  eifect.  By  the 
terms  of  this  act  the  convention  was  authorized  to  adopt  such 
amendments  to  the  State  Constitution  as  might  by  them  be 
deemed  necessary  to  emancipate  the  slaves ;  and  also  to  pre- 
serve in  purity  the  elective  franchise  to  loyal  citizens ;  and 
such  other  amendments  as  might  be  deemed  essential  to  the 
public  good. 

Under  this  grant  of  power  the  convention  proceeded  to 
frame  an  entirely  new  constitution  not  excelled  for  proscrip- 
tion, injustice  and  inhumanity  in  the  annals  of  civilized 
countries. 

It  was  known  as  the  Drake  Convention  from  the  fact 
that  Charles  D.  Drake,  one  of  its  members,  and  now  ex-Chief 
Justice  of  the  Court  of  Claims,  was  the  controlling  spirit, 
and  absolutely  dominated  his  timid  and  inferior  colleagues. 

The  third  section  of  the  organic  instrument  which  the  con- 
vention adopted,  was  as  follows  : 

Section  3.  At  any  election  held  by  the  people  under  this 
constitution,  or  in  pursuance  of  any  law  of  this  state,  or  any 
ordinance  or  by-law  of  any  municipal  corporation,  no  person 
shall  be  deemed  a  qualified  voter,  who  has  ever  been  in  armed 
hostility  to  the  United  States,  or  to  the  lawful  authorities 
thereof,  or  to  the  government  of  this  state  ;  or  has  ever  given 
aid,  comfort,  countenance  or  support  to  persons  engaged  in 
any  such  hostility;  or  has  ever,  in  any  manner,  adhered  to 
the  enemies,  foreign  or  domestic,  of  the  United  States,  either 

285 


286  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

by  contributing  to  them,  or  by  unlawfully  sending  within 
their  lines  money,  goods,  letters  or  information  ;  or  has  ever 
disloyally  held  communication  with  such  enemies;  or  has 
ever  advised  or  aided  any  person  to  enter  the  service  of  such 
enemies ;  or  has  ever,  by  act  or  word,  manifested  his  adher- 
ence to  the  cause  of  such  enemies,  or  his  desire  for  their 
triumph  over  the  arms  of  the  United  States,  or  his  sympathy 
with  those  engaged  in  exciting  or  carrying  on  rebellion  against 
the  United  States ;  or  has  ever,  except  under  overpowering 
compulsion,  submitted  to  the  authority,  or  been  in  the  service 
of  the  so-called  'Confederate  States  of  America' ;  or  has  ever 
left  the  state  and  gone  within  the  lines  of  the  armies  of  the 
so-called  ^Confederate  States  of  America,'  with  the  purpose  of 
cohering  to  said  states  or  armies ;  or  lias  ever  been  a  mem- 
ber of,  or  connected  with,  any  order,  society  or  organization 
inimical  to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  or  to  the 
government  of  this  state;  or  has  ever  been  engaged  in  gue- 
rilla warfare  against  the  loyal  inhabitants  of  the  United 
States,  or  in  that  description  of  marauding  commonly  known 
as  bush-whacking;  or  has  ever  knowingly  and  willingly  har- 
bored, aided  or  countenanced  any  person  so  engaged  ;  or  has 
ever  come  into  or  has  left  this  state  for  the  purpose  of  avoid- 
ing enrollment  for  or  draft  into  the  military  service  of  the 
United  States ;  or  has  ever,  with  a  view  to  avoid  enrollment 
in  the  militia  of  this  state,  or  to  escape  the  performance  of 
duty  therein,  or  for  any  other  purpose,  enrolled  himself,  or 
authorized  himself  to  be  enrolled,  by  or  before  any  officer,  as 
disloyal,  or  as  a  Southern  syraj>athizer,  or  in  any  other  terms 
indicating  his  disaffection  to  the  government  of  the  United 
States  in  its  contest  with  rebellion,  or  his  sympathy  with 
those  engaged  in  such  rebellion ;  or  having  ever  voted  at  any 
election  by  the  people  in  this  state,  or  in  any  other  of  the 
United  States,  or  in  any  of  their  territories,  or  under  the 
United  States,  shall  thereafter  have  sought  or  received, 
under  claim  of  alienage,  the  protection  of  any  foreign  Govern- 
ment, through  any  consul  or  other  officer  thereof,  in  order 
to  secure  exemption  from  military  duty  in  the  militia  of 
this  state,  or  in  the  Army  of  the  United  States ;  nor  shall 
any  such  person  be  capable  of  holding  in  thisstate,  any  office 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  MISSOURI.  287 

of  honor,  trust  or  profit  under  its  authority  ;  or  of  being 
an  officer,  councilman,  director,  trustee,  or  other  manager  of 
any  corporation,  public  or  private,  now  existing,  or  hereafter 
established  by  its  authority ;  or  of  acting  as  a  professor  or 
teacher  in  any  educational  institution,  or  in  any  common  or 
other  school ;  or  of  holding  any  real  estate,  or  other  property 
in  trust  for  the  use  of  any  church,  religious  society  or  congre- 
gation. But  the  foregoing  provisions  in  relation  to  acts  done 
against  the  United  States  shall  not  apply  to  any  person  not  a 
citizen  thereof,  or  who  shall  have  committed  such  acts  while 
in  the  service  of  some  foreign  country  at  war  with  the  United 
States,  and  who  has,  since  such  acts,  been  naturalized,  or  mav 
hereafter  be  naturalized,  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States ; 
and  the  oath  of  loyalty  hereinafter  prescribed  when  taken  by 
any  such  person,  shall  be  considered  as  taken  in  such  sense." 

The  Constitution  also  provided  that  the  General  Assembly 
should  enact  laws  for  the  registration  of  voters,  and  that  no 
one  should  be  allowed  to  register  or  vote  until  he  had  taken 
an  oath  in  accordance  with  the  section  above  quoted,  but  that 
the  taking  such  oath  was  not  conclusive  as  to  loyalty,  but 
might  be  negatived  by  other  evidence,  the  registering  officers 
being  the  only  judges. 

The  ninth  section  provided  that  no  person  should  practice 
law,  or  be  competent  as  a  bishop,  priest,  deacon,  minister, 
elder,  or  other  clergyman  of  any  religious  persuasion,  sect  or 
denomination,  to  teach,  or  preach,  or  solemnize  marriages, 
unless  such  person  shall  have  first  taken,  subscribed,  and 
filed  the  expurgatorial  oath  required  as  to  voters  by  the 
third  section. 

Under  these  provisions  the  parent  who  had  given  a  piece 
of  bread  or  cup  of  water  to  a  son  in  the  service  of  the  Con- 
federate States,  or  who  had  in  any  way  expressed  sympathy 
for  such  son,  was  prohibited  from  registering  as  a  voter,  or 
serving  as  a  juror,  or  holding  any  office,  or  acting  as  trustee, 
or  practicing  law,  or  teaching  in  any  school,  or  preaching  the 
Gospel,  or  solemnizing  any  religious  rite. 

A  more  inhuman,  atrocious,  and  barbarous  instrument  than 
this  Constitution  was  never  invented. 

An  election  was  ordered  for  June  the  6th,  1865,  to  ascer- 


288  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

tain  the  sense  of  the  people  as  to  the  adoption  or  rejection  of 
the  Constitution  ;  but  no  person  was  permitted  to  vote  "  who 
should  not  be  a  qualified  voter  according  to  the  terms  of  this 
Constitution,  if  the  second  article  thereof  were  then  in  force.'^ 
In  other  words,  no  one  could  vote  who  could  not  take  the 
oath  prescribed  by  the  instrument  upon  the  adoption  of  which 
the  vote  was  taken. 

Of  course,  the  Constitution  was  declared  adopted,  but  with 
all  the  means  that  could  be  invented  by  partisan  malevolence, 
or  enforced  bv  brutal  violence,  the  majority  in  the  state  was 
only  1,862,  there  being  43,670  votes  for,  and  41,808  votes 
against  the  instrument.  It  must  be  remembered  that  bodies 
of  armed  radical  militia,  inflamed  with  the  worst  passions  of 
civil  war,  were  camped  around  the  voting  places  and  bran- 
dished their  weapons  upon  the  day  of  election,  with  threats 
of  violence  to  all  who  opposed  the  Constitution.  The  best 
men  in  the  state  were  disfranchised — gray-haired  pioneers 
who  had  fought  the  Indians  for  the  soil  on  which  they  had 
built  their  homes;  lawyers,  eminent  in  their  profession,  who 
had  presided  over  courts  of  justice,  and  others  who  liad  made 
the  first  laws  enacted  for  the  state  ;  ministers  who  had  spent 
their  lives  in  preaching  the  Gospel  of  Christ;  the  first  citi- 
zens and  largest  tax-payers  were  driven  from  the  polls,  whilst 
ignorance,  violence,  and  fraud  controlled  the  ballot  box. 

So  monstrous  was  the  outrage,  that  many  leaders  of  the 
Union  party  refused  to  take  the  oath  prescribed,  and  openly 
denounced  the  Constitution. 

W.  y.  N.  Bay  and  John  D.  S.  Dryden,  Judges  of  the  Su- 
preme Court,  and  Union  men  of  undoubted  loyalty,  refused 
to  take  the  oath,  and  were  removed  from  the  bench  by  the 
police  of  St.  Louis,  and  taken  as  prisoners  before  the  City 
Recorder. 

Major-General  Francis  P.  Blair,  the  admitted  leader  of  the 
Unionists  in  Missouri,  and  who  had  commanded  an  army 
corps  on  the  Federal  side  during  the  war,  went  before  the 
Registers  in  his  uniform,  demanded  to  be  recorded  as  a  voter 
without  taking  the  oath,  and  being  refused  at  once  instituted 
a  suit  for  damages  against  the  Registering  officers. 

On  January  the  14th,  1867,  the  case  of  Father  John  A. 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  MISSOURI.  289 

Cummings,  a  Koman  Catholic  priest,  who  had  been  indicted 
and  convicted  for  administering  the  rites  of  his  church,  with- 
out first  taking  the  oath  prescribed  by  the  Drake  Constitution 
came  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  the 
state  of  Missouri  being  defendant  in  error.  It  was  held 
after  an  able  and  exhaustive  review  of  all  the  questions  in- 
volved in  the  record,  by  a  majority  of  the  Court,  Justice 
Field  delivering  the  opinion,  that  the  Missouri  test-oath  as  it 
was  termed,  was  in  violation  of  those  provisions  of  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution  which  prohibits  any  state  from  enacting  a 
bill  of  attainder,  or  ex  post  facto  law,  and  was  therefore  null 
and  void. 

The  twenty-fourth  General  Assembly  elected  under  the 
operation  of  the  unconstitutional  provisions  which  disfran- 
chised the  intelligent  and  property-holding  voters  of  the  state, 
assembled  on  January  the  7th,  1868,  and  proceeded  at  once  to 
enact  a  registration  law  far  more  stringent  and  arbitrary  than 
that  which  had  received  the  condemnation  of  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court. 

RAILROADS  SOLD. 

The  same  General  Assembly,  with  a  large  Republican  ma- 
jority in  both  House  and  Senate,  passed  an  act,  which  was 
approved  by  the  Republican  Governor,  on  March  31st,  1868, 
providing  for  the  sale  of  the  Pacific  Railroad,  which  had 
been  forfeited  to  the  state,  to  the  Pacific  Railroad  Company, 
for  the  sum  of  $5,000,000,  the  state  having  issued  its  bonds 
to  the  amount  of  $7,000,000,  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  the 
road. 

The  influences  which  were  potent  enough  to  secure  this 
legislation,  may  be  conjectured  from  the  official  report  of 
George  R.  Taylor,  president  of  the  company,  made  after  the 
sale,  to  the  board  of  directors,  in  which  he  stated  that  the 
passage  of  the  bill  had  cost  the  company  $192,000. 

It  was  well  known  at  the  time,  and  is  now  notorious,  that 
the  Legislature  was  purchased  by  the  Railroad  Company,  and 
the  amounts  paid  to  various  members  have  been  often  stated. 

During  the  six  years  from  1864  to  1870,  when  the  Repub- 
19 


290  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

lican  party  controlled  Missouri,  venality,  corruption  and  prof- 
ligate extravagance  in  expenditure  of  the  people's  money  held 
high  carnival. 

At  different  times  ])rior  to  the  war,  the  state  granted  to  va- 
rious Railroad  Companies  aid  in  the  construction  of  their 
roads  within  the  state,  by  issuing  state  bonds  to  the  amount 
of  §23,701,000,  viz  :  To  the  Pacific  Railroad,  $7,000,000. 
To  the  Pacific  Railroad,  for  its  South  West  Branch,  $4,500,- 
000.  To  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Josei)h,  $3,000,000.  To  the 
North  Missouri,  $4,350,000.  To  the  St.  Louis  and  Iron 
Mountain,  §3,501,000.  To  the  Cairo  and  Fulton,  §G50,000. 
To  the  Platte  Country,  §700,000.  By  the  terms  of  the  con- 
tracts made  with  these  companies,  they  bound  themselves  to 
pay  the  interest  upon  the  bonds,  advanced  as  it  accrued, 
but  failed  to  do  so,  and  in  consequence  of  such  default,  the 
roads  were  taken  possession  of  under  the  provisions  of  the 
acts  granting  the  state's  aid,  and  sold  by  the  state,  the  sales 
being  made  under  the  regime  of  the  Republican  party. 

As  stated  above,  the  amount  advanced  in  bonds  was 
$23,701,000,  and  the  amount  realized  from  the  sale  of  the 
roads  was  §6,131,496,  showing  a  net  loss  to  the  state  of 
$17,569,504,  together  with  interest  on  ])ast  due  coupons 
amounting  to  $14,166,366,  making  the  debt,  principal  and 
interest  at  the  date  of  sale,  $31,735,840. 

There  not  being  sufficient  money  in  the  State  Treasury  to 
meet  the  obligations  incurred  by  reason  of  the  aid  to  the 
i^oads,  which  obligations  still  rested  upon  the  state  less  the 
proceeds  of  sales  made  by  the  Republicans,  an  act  was  passed 
by  the  General  Assembly  in  March,  1867,  authorizing  a  tax 
of  forty  cents  on  the  hundred  dollars  upon  all  taxal)le  prop- 
erty in  the  state  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  interest  on  the 
state  debt,  so  that  the  legacy  of  the  Republican  party  to  the 
people  of  Missouri,  after  six  years'  rule,  Avas  the  loss  of  the 
state's  ownership  in  the  valuable  railroads  built  with  the  peo- 
ple's money,  and  a  debt  of  many  millions  of  dollars,  to  be 
paid  by  taxation  upon  the  property  of  the  citizens  then  liv- 
ino;,  and  those  com i no;  after  them. 

The  following  summary  of  these  brilliant  financial  achieve- 
ments by  the  Republican   party  of  Missouri,  will  stand  an 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  MISSOURI.  291 

enduring  monument  of  the  reconstruction  period  in  that  Com- 
monwealth : 

Original  debt  assumed  by  the  state,  and  past  due,  — 

Coupons, $31,755,840 

Deduct  proceeds  of  sale  of  roads 6,131,496 

Balance  to  be  paid  by  the  state, 25,604,344 

Interest  paid  on  this  amount  to  date,  ....    17,809,669 

Making  total  cost  to  the  state, 143,414,013 

After  regaining  control  of  the  state's  affairs  in  1872,  the 
Democrats  of  Missouri  have  so  managed  and  utilized  the 
vast  resources  of  the  Commonwealth,  that  the  debt  left  by  the 
Republicans  has  been  largely  reduced  and  will  in  a  few  years 
be  entirely  extinguished.  As  an  evidence  of  the  economy  and 
honesty  with  which  the  finances  of  Missouri  have  been 
handled  since  1872,  it  is  only  necessary  to  note  the  fact  that 
the  bonds  of  the  state  command  a  higher  price  than  those  of 
any  state  in  the  Union,  whilst  the  taxes  imposed  upon  the 
people  have  been  steadily  decreased. 

It  has  been  often  claimed  by  the  Republican  leaders  in 
Missouri,  that  the  sale  of  the  state's  property  in  the  railroads 
for  the  amounts  received,  was  absolutely  necessary  at  the 
time,  in  order  to  develope  the  resources  of  the  state  by  put- 
ting the  roads  in  the  hands  of  individuals  and  corporations 
by  whose  enterprise  they  would  be  completed  and  operated. 

Two  significant  facts  disprove  this  statement  and  show  that 
other  than  patriotic  motives  induced  these  sales. 

The  official  report  of  George  R.  Taylor,  President  of  the 
Missouri  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  showing  the  expenditure 
of  $192,000  by  the  Company  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  act 
authorizing  the  sale  of  the  Missouri  Pacific  Railroad  for 
§5,000,000,  and  the  ecpially  extraordinary  circumstances 
atlendino;  the  sale  of  the  Iron  Mountain  and  Cairo  and  Fulton 
Railroads  in  the  year  1866. 

These  roads  were  sold  by  three  Commissioners,  appointed 
by  the  Republican  Governor,  under  the  act  of  the  General 
Assembly,  approved  March  19th,  1866.  The  law  required 
the  Commissioners  to  make  the  sale  to  the  highest  and  best 
bidder,  the  bids  to  be  handed,  under  seal,  to  the  Commission. 


292  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

The  bid  of  John  C.  Vogel,  Samuel  Simmons  et  al.,  of 
$900,001),  for  both  roads,  was  accepted,  and  the  roads  trans- 
ferred to  these  gentlemen,  who  immediately  afterwards  sold 
their  interest  to  Thomas  Allen  for  a  much  larger  sum  than 
the  amount  paid  the  state. 

And  now  comes  the  strangest  part  of  this  "strange,  event- 
ful history."  One  of  the  Commissioners,  a  brother-in-law  of 
the  Governor,  and  belonging  to  the  same  party,  resigned  his 
place  on  the  Commission,  and  in  a  published  card  stated  tiiat 
the  bid  accepted  by  the  Commissioners  for  the  two  roads,  was 
not  the  highest  and  best,  as  the  law  required,  but  that  he  had 
in  vain  protested  against  the  action  of  the  other  Commission- 
ers, and,  being  powerless  as  a  minority  member  of  the  board, 
had  no  other  alternative  than  to  resign. 

In  the  face  of  these  facts  it  requires  vastly  more  than  ordi- 
nary credulity  to  believe  that  patriotic  motives  caused  these 
sales  of  the  state's  property. 

FRAUDULENT  COUNTY  BONDS. 

Another  legacy  of  the  six  years'  rule  of  the  Republican 
party  in  Missouri,  was  a  county  and  municipal  b.onded  in- 
debtedness of  more  than  $15,000,000,  created  by  county 
courts  and  the  Republican  officials  of  towns  and  cities,  for  the 
pretended  purpose  of  constructing  railroads  which  had  no  ex- 
istence except  in  the  brains  of  corrupt  speculators. 

The  Drake  Constitution  having  excluded  from  the  ballot 
box  a  large  majority  of  the  property-holders  of  the  state, 
there  were  elected  in  every  county,  town  and  city,  by  the 
vicious  and  ignorant  element  that  felt  no  responsibility,  and 
was  the  absolute  property  of  designing  carpet-baggers,  corrupt 
officials,  who  became  the  willing  tools  of  knaves  and  adven- 
turers. 

Railroads  in  every  direction  were  projected,  and  county 
courts,  city  councils,  and  boards  of  trustees,  elected  by  pau- 
pers and  vagabonds,  being  under  the  law  financial  agents  of 
counties^  cities  and  towns,  went  into  partnership  with  corrupt 
speculators  and  issued  without  the  knowledge  and  against  the 
consent  of  the  people,  more  than  fifteen  million  dollars  in 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  MISSOURI.  293 

county  and  municipal  bonds,  the  principal  and  interest  of 
which  have  been,  or  are  being,  paid  by  the  tax-payers. 

In  vain  did  the  plundered  people  appeal  to  the  courts.  By 
repeated  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 
it  was  adjudged  that  bonds  issued  to  construct  railroads  by 
county  courts  and  municipal  authorities,  having  the  legal 
power  to  create  such  indebtedness,  the  bonds  being  regular 
upon  their  face,  and  giving  no  notice  of  fraud,  were  in  the 
nature  of  negotiable  instruments,  issued  to  an  innocent  pur- 
chaser before  maturity,  for  a  valuable  consideration,  and  must 
be  paid,  no  matter  how  outrageous  the  robbery  perpetrated 
by  the  county  or  other  officials  in  creating  them. 

Driven  to  desperation,  the  tax-payers  in  some  localities  rose 
against  the  conspirators,  and  avenged  their  wrongs  in  scenes 
of  blood  and  horror. 

In  1872  the  citizens  of  Cass  County  stopped  a  railroad 
train  and  shot  to  death  the  Presiding  Judge  of  the  County 
Court  and  the  County  Attorney,  who  had  issued  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars  of  fraudulent  county  bonds,  and 
divided  them  among  a  gang  of  faithless  officials  and  corrupt 
adventurers. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  never  again  will  be  witnessed  upon 
this  continent  the  reign  of  fraud  and  outrage  to  which  the 
people  of  Missouri  were  subjected  during  these  years  of  Re- 
publican supremacy.  They  are  to-day  paying  the  fraudulent 
debts  then  created,  and  from  which  they  cannot  escape. 

Reconstruction  in  Missouri  cost  the  tax-payers  of  the  state 
heavily,  but  their  experience  has  been  cheaply  bought,  if  it 
prevents  the  return  to  power  of  the  party  under  whose 
auspices  they  were  wronged  and  plundered. 

G.  G.  Vest. 


CHAPTER  XL 

RECONSTRUCTION  IN  ARKANSAS. 

CRIMINATION  and  recrimination  are  as  repugnant  to 
good  taste  as  they  are  to  my  own  inclination.  Between 
sections  of  a  common  country  they  arc  criminal.  Under 
this  conviction,  and  that  all  parts  of  our  Republic;  might  be 
fraternized  and  united  in  a  combined  eifort  to  build  up  our 
great  nationality,  the  Southern  statesmen  have  abstained  from 
replying  to  the  many  slanders  against  the  Southern  people, 
which  have  been  widely  circulated  by  Republican  leaders, 
until  their  unanswered  reiteration  hassled  to  the  belief  that 
they  are  true,  and  has  produced  such  wide-spread  and  deep- 
rooted  prejudices  among  their  less  informed  followers  as  to 
amount,  in  the  judgment  of  thinking  and  patriotic  men,  to  a 
serious  danger  to  our  institutions. 

As  evidenced  by  the  character  of  the  late  presidential  cam- 
paign in  the  North,  that  section  is  becoming  as  separate  and 
antagonistic  as  if  we  were  two  distinct  and  hostile  empires. 

Surely  this  is  to  be  deplored  and  surely  it  becomes  a  public 
duty  of  Southern  men  who  know  the  facts,  to  disabuse  the 
minds  of  the  more  candid  of  our  fellow-citizens  of  the  North  ; 
to  let  them  see  that  the  antagonism  of  the  people  of  the 
South  to  the  Republican  party  is  in  no  sense  an  antagonism 
to  the  Northern  section  of  our  common  country;  to  show 
them  that  the  conduct  of  this  party  in  the  South  was  such  as 
not  only  to  repel  the  patriotism  and  decency  of  the  South, 
but  was  also  such  as  should  serve  as  a  monumental  warninor 
to  the  American  people  against  all  attempts  to  seek  party  ad- 
vantage through  illegitimate  or  doubtful  legislative  enactment. 

It  is  under  this  conviction  of  duty  that  I  have  consented 
to  write  this  review  of  Reconstruction  in  Arkansas. 

Nor  is  there  the  slightest  admixture  of  malice  in  anything 
294 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  ARKANSAS.  295 

I  shall  say.  Accordingly  I  shall  not  mention  names  except 
when  absolutely  necessary.  I  write  not  of  persons,  but  of 
conditions,  and  methods,  and  outrages,  which  I  could  have 
hoped  it  might  never  be  necessary  to  recall. 

Indeed,  many  a  man  who  participated  in  these  outrages, 
when  surrounded  by  the  temptations  thrown  around  him  by 
the  then  conditions,  has  become  a  respected  and  law-abiding 
citizen  since  he  has  been  surrounded  by  the  better  influences 
of  Democratic  supremacy.  I  shall  respect  his  present  stand- 
ing, holding  myself  ready,  however,  to  furnish  names  upon 
any  demand  entitled  to  respect. 

To  obtain  a  clear  appreciation  of  the  state  of  things  in 
Arkansas  during  reconstruction  it  will  be  necessary  to  show 
how  the  carpet-bag  government  was  put  upon  our  people  by 
Congress,  and  also  what  sort  of  government  it  was. 

It  was  well  known  that  the  Southern  people  had  retiirned 
from  the  civil  war  utterly  impoverished.  Their  desolate 
homes  were  without  furniture,  without  fencing,  without  labor, 
and  often  without  houses.  Nothing  was  left  for  the  support 
of  themselves  and  their  families  except  their  own  courage 
and  manhood,  and  therefore,  they  could  not  afford  to  lose 
time  at  elections  except  upon  the  most  important  questions. 

Accordingly  when  Congress,  in  the  Reconstruction  act  of 
March  23,  1867,  section  5,  enacted,  "  That     .  .    it  Con- 

"  gress  shall  be  satisfied  that  such  constitution  meets  the  ap 
**  proval  of  a  majority  of  all  the  qualified  electors  .  .  . 
"  and  the  constitution  shall  be  approved  by  Congress  the 
"  state  shall  be  declared  entitled  to  representation  .  .  . 
*^&c.,"  the  people  of  Arkansas  were  disposed  to  be  grateful 
to  them  for  thus  recognizing  their  impoverished  condition 
and  the  consequent  value  to  their  families  of  their  time,  in 
thus  enabling  them  to  defeat  an  obnoxious  constitution  by 
simply  registering  and  remaining  at  their  much  needed 
labors  at  home,  not  to  vote  at  all  being  equivalent  to  a  vote 
against  it. 

Thus  relying  implicitly  upon  the  good  faith  of  Congress, 
the  people  pursued  their  labors  in  security,  feeling  assured 
that  nothing  very  damaging  to  their  interests  would  be  con- 
summated without  their  consent. 


296  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH?  v 

A  constitutional  convention  met  and  formulated  a  constitu- 
tion, which  was  so  un-republicaa  in  its  schedule  that  the 
people  did  not  dream  that  Congress  would  approve  it,  and 
accordingly  not  nearly  half  of  them  voted  upon  its  ratification. 

Its  schedule  gave  three  men,  James  L.  Hodges,  Joseph 
Brooks  and  Thomas  M.  Bowen,  such  absolute  control  of  the 
election  of  state  and  county  officials  under  it  that  they  could 
elect  or  defeat  whom  they  wished. 

Section  4  gave  them  power  to  select  such  judges  and  clerks 
of  election  as  they  saw  fit,  and  to  hold  the  election  as  long  as 
they  might  wish  in  order  to  alford  the  negroes  opportunity  to 
vote  in  as  many  districts  as  might  be  needed  (see  military  re- 
port of  Gen.  A.  C.  Gillem  upon  election  in  Pulaski  County, 
April  22,  1868). 

Section  8  gave  them  power  to  reject  or  count  all  votes 
which  seemed  to  them  legal  or  illegal,  fraudulent  or  rightful. 

Section  11  gave  these  election  judges  the  right  to  allow 
any  vote  with  which  they  might  be  "  satisfied." 

This  constitution  ])rovided  for  the  election  of  all  state  and 
county  officers  under  this  schedule.  The  election  of  these 
officers  was  dependent  upon  the  ratification  of  the  proposed 
constitution,  for,  although  candidates  should  receive  every 
vote  cast  for  officers,  the  new  government  was  only  to  go 
into  operation  on  condition  that  the  constitution  should  re- 
ceive the  votes  of  a  majority  of  all  the  registered  electors.  So 
read  the  law  of  Congress  at  the  time  the  election  for  the  rati- 
fication or  rejection  of  the  constitution  began. 

But  alas!  On  the  second  day  after  the  election  had  begun 
and  in  the  afternoon  the  following  telegram  was  received  by 
Gen.  A.  C.  Gillem,  the  officer  commanding  : 

"  Washington,  March  13,  1868. — The  last  amendatory  act  passed  is 
"now  law.  It  provides  that  majority  of  votes  actually  cast  determines 
**  adoption  or  rejection  of  constitution  ;  also  that  electors  may  at  the  same 
*'  time  vote  for  members  of  Congress  and  all  the  elective  officers  provided 
"  for  by  said  constitution.  U.  S.  Grant. 

"  Major-General  A-  C.  Gillem." 

This  notification,  coming  two  days  after  the  election  had 
begun,  too  late,  as  every  congressman  well  knew,  for  the  electors 
of  a  state  having  neither  railroads  or  telegraphs,  ever  to 


EECONSTEUCTION   IN  AEKANSAS.  297 

hear  of  its  existence  in  time  for  use.  Such  an  election  could 
not  be  in  any  sense  regarded  as  fairly  expressing  the  wishes  of 
the  people  of  the  state.  No  election  can  or  ought  to  be  re- 
garded as  fair  by  any  authority  unless  there  be  full  and  fair 
notice  of  the  terras  upon  which  it  is  to  be  held.  Conducted 
as  they  were  the  elections  resulted  in  the  organization  of 
county,  town  and  state  governments,  elected  by  a  mere  tithe 
of  the  voters.  In  Green  County,  for  instance,  the  sheriff  was 
elected  by  a  total  vote  of  eight ;  the  clerk  by  a  total  vote  of 
seven ;  the  state  senator  from  the  district,  composed  of  Law- 
rence, Randolph  and  Green  Counties,  was  elected  by  a  total 
vote  of  thirty. 

The  assurance  with  which  these  carpet-bag  citizens,  fresh 
from  the  districts  of  these  congressmen,  assumed  that  they 
Avould  be  sustained  by  Congress ;  the  ready  acceptance  by 
that  body  of  a  constitution  having  such  a  history  and  wdiich 
the  commanding  general  declared  was  not  ratified  except  by 
counting  1,900  votes  which  were  fraudulent,  and  the  oppor- 
tune time  at  which  this  last  "amendatory  act ^' was  passed 
and  telegraphed,  might  even  justify  a  suspicion  of  a  con- 
spiracy between  the  Congress  and  the  carpet-bag  govern- 
ment. 

But  the  writer  has  no  desire  to  assail  Cong-ress. 

Recognizing  the  fact  that  they  had  been  elected  to  office  by 
an  insignificant  minority,  the  officials  were  shrewd  enough  to 
know  that  in  order  to  hold  their  ill-gotten  power  it  was  ne- 
cessary that  they  should  have  absolute  control,  first,  of  the 
future  elections  ;  second,  of  the  revenues.  But  first  of  all 
they  knew  that,  as  there  was  likely  to  be  trouble  as  soon  as 
the  people  should  find  out  how  basely  they  had  been  betrayed 
}\nd  how  wantonly  they  were  to  be  plundered  of  every  sacred 
I'ght  of  the  citizen,  it  was  necessary  that  they  should  be 
thoroughly  intimidated. 

Their  first  legislature  in  1868  addressed  themselves  to 
thesje  three  tasks  with  the  ingenuity  of  the  brigand. 

Although  Gen.  C.  H.  Smith,  U.  S.  A.,  commanding  the 
district  of  Arkansas,  wrote  to  his  superior  officer  that  there 
was  no  state  of  facts  existing  in  Arkansas  to  warrant  such  a 
step,  upon  the  flimsiest  pretexts  the  governor  declared  martial 


298  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

law  ill  a  uuraber  of  counties  where  the  people  were  most  out- 
spoken in  tlieir  denunciation  of  the  government  which  had 
been  thus  foisted  upon  them  witliout  their  consent.  Negro 
militia  marched  and  marauded  and  murdered  at  will  through 
these  counties. 

I  might  fill  page  after  page  with  their  atrocities,  but  I  for- 
bear lest  their  detail  stir  up  animosities  which  could  do  no 
good,  but  were  better  suppressed. 

They  grew,  however,  to  such  enormity  as  to  shock  espe- 
cially the  "old  citizens,'^  who  were  members  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, and  who  were  more  disposed  to  be  conservative  than  the 
carpet-bag  representatives,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following 
general  order : 

"  Little  Eock,  Dec.  4,  186B. 
"  Brig.  General  Upham, 

"Commanding  Dist.  N.  E.  Ark. 
"General. — I  am  instructed  by  the  Governor  to  write  you  as  follows : 
"  Altliougli  the  Legislature  in  the  first  part  of  the  session  fully  endorsed 
"  the  action  of  his  excellency  in  declaring  martial  law  and  putting  into 
"  active  service  the  State  Guards,  it  is  ajjparent  now  that  many  of  them  are 
" '  weaker.ing/  especially  are  the  old  citizens  beginning  to  refuse  that  support 
"which  should  be  given  the  executive  at  this  time.  In  order  to  prevent 
"  the  growth  of  this  feeling  and  to  take  advantage  of  this  faction  it  is  de- 
"sirable  that  our  military  operations  be  pushed  to  an  end  within  the  next 
"thirty  days.  All  we  can  do  now  is  to  show  the  rebels  that  we  can  march 
"the  militia  through  any  county  in  the  state  whenever  it  is  necessary.  Use 
*'  every  effort  to  catch  the  desperadoes  in  Woodruff,  Craighead  and  Greene 
"  Counties. 

"  I  hope  you  will  end  your  operations  in  your  section  as  soon  as  possible. 
"  You  see  we  are  likely  not  only  to  have  to  fight  the  rebels  but  the  Legis- 
"laturealso.  We  don't  propose  to  allow  any  advantage.  I  am,  General, 
"  your  obedient  servant.  "  Keyes  Danforth, 

"Adj't.  General." 


In  another  order  to  General  S.  W.  Mallory,  commanding 
S.  E.  Dist.  of  Ark.,  on  the  25ch  day  of  December,  1868,  ten 
days  afterwards,  the  following  sentence  occurs  :  ".  .  .  He," 
'^  the  Governor,  "  thinks  you  may  safely  execute  many  of 
*^  them.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  that  some  examples  be 
'^  made.  (Signed) 

^'Pbivate  Secretary/' 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  ARKANSAS.  299 

It  will  be  seen  that  he  dare  not  sign  his  name  to  this  carte 
blanche  commission  to  murder. 

His  caution,  however,  was  quite  unnecessary,  as  the  Legis- 
lature subsequently  passed  an  amnesty  act  forbidding  the 
punishment  of  any  of  the  murders  or  other  outrages  com- 
mitted by  this  militia.  The  act  is  here  inserted.  I  would 
call  especial  attention  to  the  phrase,  *^  or  otherwise,"  and  its 
significance  as  it  occurs  in  two  places  in  the  act.  It  covers  a 
multitude  of  wanton  crimes  : 

"  An  act  to  declare  valid  and  conclusive  certain  proclamations  of  the 
"Governor  of  the  State  of  Arkansas  and  acts  done  in  pursuance  thereof, 
''  or  in  his  orders  in  the  declaration  of  martial  law. 

'*Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Arkansas : 

"  Section  1,  That  all  acts,  proclamations  and  orders  of  the  Governor  of 
"  the  State  of  Arkansas,  or  acts  done  by  his  authority,  or  approved  after 
"  the  third  day  of  November,  1868,  and  before  the  first  day  of  April,  1869, 
"  re-!pecting  martial  law,  military  trials  by  courts-martial,  or  military  com- 
"  missions  or  the  arrest  and  imprisonment  or  trials  of  persons  charged  with 
"  any  ollense  against  the  state,  or  any  resistance  to  the  laws  thereof,  or  as 
"aiiers  or  abettors  thereof,  or  as  guilty  of  any  disloyal  practice  in 
"  aid  thereof,  or  of  affording  aid  or  comfort  to  those  en2,aged  therein, 
"and  all  proceedings  and  acts  done  by  the  military  forces,  or  had 
"by  courts-martial  or  military  commissions,  arrests,  imprisonments, 
"searches  and  seizures  made  in  the  premises  l)y  any  person  by  the  autiior- 
"  ity  of  the  orders  of  proclamations  of  the  Governor  of  the  State,  made  as 
''aforesaid,  or  in  aid  thereof,  or  otherwise,  are  hereby  apjiroved  in  all  re- 
''  spects,  legalized  and  made  valid  to  the  same  extent  and  with  the  same 
"  effect  as  if  said  orders,  proclamations  and  acts  had  been  issued  and  made, 
"and  said  arrests,  imprisonments,  searches  and  seizures,  proceedings  and 
"  acts  had  been  done  under  the  previous  express  authority  and  directions 
"of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Arkansas,  and  in  pursuance  of 
"  the  laws  thereof,  previously  enacted,  and  expressly  authorizing  and  di- 
"recting  the  same  to  be  done.  And  no  courts  of  the  State  of  Arkansas 
"shall  have  or  take  jurisdiction  of,  or  in  any  manner  review  any  of  the 
"proceedings  had  or  acts  done  as  aforesaid  ;  nor  shall  any  person  be  hel  1 
"to  answer  in  any  court  of  said  state,  for  any  act  done,  or  omitted  to  be 
"done,  in  pursuance  of  or  in  aid  of  any  of  said  proclamations,  or  orders,  or 
"otherwise,  by  any  of  said  force  or  forces  in  the  period  aforesaid,  arjd  all 
"  officers  and  other  persons  in  the  State  of  Arkansas,  or  who  acted  in  aid 
"  thereof,  acting  in  the  premises  or  otherwise  shall  be  held  to  be  prin)a 
"facie  to  have  been  authorized  by  the  jzovernor  of  the  state;  provided, 
"that  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  prohibit  the 
"convening  of  courts-martial  for  the  trial  of  persons  belonging  to  the 
"  militia  or  state  guards  of  this  state. 

"  Section  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and  after  its 
"  passage. 

"Approved  April  6, 1869." 


300  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Under  these  orders  right  eDergetically  did  they  '^push  their 
military  operations.^'  Democrats  who  were  most  outspoken 
were  arrested  without  charge,  carried  off,  nobody  knows,  even 
to  this  date,  where,  in  some  instances  ;  others  were  tied  up  and 
shot  to  death ;  others  whipped,  others  imprisoned,  and  all 
robbed  of  personal  property. 

They  seemed  to  act  in  these  outrages,  as  in  many  others, 
upon  the  assumption  that  the  more  atrocious  the  outrage  the 
less  it  would  be  believed  in  the  civilized  world,  while  the 
very  complaints  of  them  could  be  used  as  evidence  of  ''  Rebel 
lies,"  and  "  Rebel  bitterness  and  disloyalty.'' 

If  it  would  serve  any  good  purpose  I  might  give  scores  of 
instances  in  detail.  But  suffice  it  to  say  that  the  very  fact 
that  any  man  connected  with  these  murders  and  outrages 
could  reside  in  Arkansas  for  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  years 
afterwards  unmolested,  is  the  highest  possible  tribute  to  the 
love  of  peace  and  order  of  the  people  of  the  state. 

ELECTIONS. 

Their  first  election  law  was  a  model  of  mockery.  It  should 
be  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  Nation  as  at  once  a  history 
and  an  admonition. 

Section  2270  (Gant's  Digest)  gave  the  Governor,  with  the 
consent  of  the  Senate,  power  to  select  all  the  registrars  of 
votes. 

Section  2274  gave  him  power  to  fill  all  vacancies  (which 
were  sure  to  occur  when  he  wished  it — see  page  23  *  Po- 
land's report  No.  5,  to  the  42d  Congress,  2d  session). 

Section  2270  gave  him  the  right  to  select  the  president  of 
the  Board  of  Registrars. 

Section  2281  gave  the  Board  of  Registrars  power  to  reject 
any  vote  at  will. 

Section  2288  gave  the  Board  of  Review  the  power  to  erase 
the  names  of  those  who  had  registered  if  they  saw  fit  to  do  so. 

*  The  Republican  House  of  the  Forty-second  Congress,  second  session, 
raised  a  Committee,  of  which  Mr.  Poland,  of  Vermont,  was  chairman,  and 
fent  them  to  Arkansas  to  investigate  the  affairs  of  Arkansas  to  ascertain  if 
that  state  had  a  Republican  form  of  government. 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  ARKANSAS.  301 

Section  2307  gave  the  Board  the  power  to  select  all  clerks 
and  jndges  of  election. 

To  make  the  job  complete,  section  2300  forbade  any  inter- 
ference by  the  courts  of  justice. 

Under  this  farce  all  the  elections  of  the  state  were  held 
until,  in  1874,  they  had  become  so  shocking  to  decency,  the 
people  by  a  vote  of  ten  to  one  (or  88,000  to  8,000)  demanded 
its  overthrow. 

I  might  fill  a  thousand  pages,  as  the  report  of  Hon.  Mr. 
Poland,  of  Vermont,  fills  upward  of  six  hundred  pages,  with 
outrages  upon  the  ballot  perpetrated  with  impunity  under  this 
act,  but  in  the  interest  of  brevity  I  will  cite  only  a  few  by 
way  of  illustrating  each  species. 

NO.  1.      ERASING   FROM   REGISTRATION   BOOKS. 

The  favorite  scheme,  and  the  one  practiced  in  every  pre- 
cinct in  the  state,  where  it  was  necessary,  was  to  first  register 
all  who  were  entitled  to  vote  and  then  meet  in  review  in  some 
private  place  and  scratch  off  with  red  ink  such  names  as  were 
necessary  to  secure  their  majority,  under  section  2288,  which 
gave  them  that  power. 

In  this  legislative  district,  composed  of  the  counties  of 
Franklin,  Crawford,  Sebastian  and  Scott,  just  before  the 
election  of  1872,  2500  names  of  legal  voters  were  erased  by 
the  Board  of  Review  after  they  had  been  registered. 

(See  the  depositions  of  many  of  them  in  Poland  report 
No.  22,  page  35  to  52.) 

In  this  county  the  board  struck  off  1300  names. 

(See  testimony  of  one  of  the  board,  H.  A.  Pearce,  Poland 
report  No.  2,  page  70.) 

Many  of  these  were  Union  men  and  ex-Federal  soldiers. 

NO.   2.      THROWING   OUT   COUNTIES   AND   PRECINCTS. 

Another  favorite  plan,  was  to  have  their  friends  get  up 
some  sort  of  irregularity  in  precincts  or  counties  and  then  use 
it  as  a  pretext  for  throwing  out  the  precinct  or  county  vote 
entire. 


302  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

In  1872,  after  all  the  returns  had  come  up  to  the  Secretary 
of  State,  it  was  found  that  Brooks  was  elected  Governor. 
That  official  (the  Secretary  of  State)  sent  the  returns  back  to 
be  *^  doctored/'  and  letters  were  written  to  the  clerks  to  amend 
returns,  and  excuses  Avere  gathered  up  for  throwing  out 
enough  precincts  and  counties  to  elect  Baxter.  Democratic 
})recincts  in  Van  Buren  County,  all  but  one  in  Conway  County, 
all  of  Green,  Johnson,  Scott  and  Poinsett  Counties  were 
thrown  out.  Leading  Republicans  went  all  over  the  state 
to  attend  to  the  ''doctoring.'^ 

(See  Poland's  report  No.  2,  pages  244,  245,  255  and  67  to 
75.) 

In  Hot  Springs  County,  in  1868,  the  Register  began  to 
register  votes,  and  had  registered,  perhaps,  a  dozen,  when 
several  gentlemen  came  into  the  yard  to  register.  They  were 
quietly  laughing  and  conversing  among  themselves  about 
e very-day  matters,  when  the  Register  jumped  up  and  said  he 
wanted  protection.  The  bystanders  were  astonished.  They 
asked  him  what  he  meant?  He  rc])licd  that  if  he  could  not 
get  protection  he  w^ould  quit,  and  immediately  picked  up  his 
book  and  left. 

Nobody  understood  it  until  a  few  days  afterward  a  procla- 
mation of  the  Governor  declared  that  no  election  would  be 
held  in  this  county.  The  Register  had  selected  an  out-of-way 
precinct  to  enact  this  farce.  Thus  this  Democratic  county 
was  wholly  disfranchised. 

NO.  3.      ERASING   AND   STUFFING. 

In  Hot  Springs  County,  in  1872,  a  candidate  for  State 
Senator  fraudulently  struck  off  three  hundred  names  from 
the  registration  books  and  substituted  in  their  stead  several 
hundred  straw  names,  and  after  the  election,  his  brother  being 
clerk,  he  called  oft*  these  straw  names  and  his  brother  added 
them  to  the  poll  list  and  voted  them.  Many  of  the  names 
scratched  oft"  were  those  of  Republicans,  who  would  not  vote 
for  senator.     (See  Poland  report  No.  5,  pages  22  to  28.) 

In  Caddo  Township,  in  Clark  County,  the  poll  book  showed 
1148,  whereas  the  registration  book  and  the  census  showed 
only  800.     (See  Poland  report  No.  5,  page  23.) 


BECONSTKUCTION  IN  ARKANSAS.  303 

In  Missouri  Township  ihe  candidate  for  Clerk,  who  was  one 
of  the  judges  of  election,  stole  and  stuffed  the  ballot  box  four 
hundred  votes.     This  stuffing  elected  him. 

In  Antioch  Township  only  seventeen  names  registered  but 
one  hundred  and  twenty- one  voted  in  1870,  etc. 

NO.  4.      STEALING  ONE   BOX  AND   SUBSTITUTING  ANOTHER. 

In  the  town  of  Van  Buren,  Crawford  County,  a  leading 
negro  was  instructed  to  place  sentinels  upon  the  various  roads 
leading  into  town,  and  to  keep  back  negro  voters  until  the 
afternoon.     He  was  not  told  why. 

The  supervisors  of  election  were  also  kept  outside  until 
after  dinner.  The  Democrats  voted  in  the  forenoon.  When 
the  judges  and  clerks  and  supervisors  went  up-stairs  to  dinner, 
a  box  already  prepared,  having  as  many  votes  in  it  as  had 
voted  in  the  forenoon,  and  all  Republican  votes,  was  substi- 
tuted for  the  one  in  which  the  forenoon  votes  had  been  cast 
and  which  was  stolen.  It  was  afterward  found  in  the  garret 
with  the  Democratic  votes  all  in  it. 

In  the  afternoon  the  negroes  and  Republicans  did  their 
voting  in  this  new  box,  which  was  the  one  counted. 

(See  Poland's  report  No.  2,  pages  36,  49  and  50.) 

NO.  5.      SECRETLY  CHANGING   POLLING-PLACES  AND 

STUFFING. 

In  Richland  Township,  in  Crawford  County,  the  polling- 
place  was  secretly  changed  on  the  night  before  the  election  of 
1872,  from  the  place  where  it  had  been  for  thirty  years,  and 
removed  six  miles  to  a  cane  brake  on  the  farm  of  the  United 
States  Marshal  of  the  Western  District  of  Arkansas.  The 
negroes  and  the  Republicans  were  advised  of  the  change,  but 
not  the  Democrats. 

A  box  with  fifty  votes  in  it,  all  Republican,  was  taken  to 
the  polling-place,  and  they  were  kept  in  the  box  and  counted 
by  the  judge.  The  box  was  taken  ten  miles  away  in  another 
township,  and  there  the  votes  were  counted. 

(See  Poland  report  No.  2,  pages  36  and  37.) 


304  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

NO.  6.      DEFEATING   REGISTRATION. 

The  Board  of  Registrars  would  meet  at  the  appointed  time 
for  registration,  but  would  only  let  a  few  Re})ublicans  in,  and 
then  adjourn  to  the  next  day.  People  would  come  for  miles, 
for  three  or  four  days  at  a  time,  but  as  they  could  not  get  in, 
they  would  get  discouraged  and  go  home.  In  Clarksville 
and  Newport  and  other  phices,  not  one  in  ten  could  register. 

(See  Poland  report  No.  2,  pages  284,  289  and  290.) 

NO.  7.      CERTIFICATION. 

It  was  a  boast  of  the  Clerk  of  Union  County,  that  *'  the 
Democrats  must  think  I  am  a  d — d  fool,  if  they  ever  ex- 
pect me  to  certify  a  Democrat  as  elected  while  I  am  clerk." 

NO.  8.       EXCHANGING. 

In  1872,  in  Cache  Precinct  in  Monroe  County,  125  more 
votes  were  voted  for  Brooks  for  Governor  than  the  judges 
returned.  Brooks'  votes  were  given  to  Baxter  and  Baxter's 
to  Brooks. 

(See  page  333,  Poland  report  No.  2.) 

But  why  multiply  examples?  Let  any  candid  man  read 
the  670  pages  of  Mr.  Poland's  two  reports  to  the  Forty- 
second  Congress,  second  session,  and  say  whether,  if  any  Ar- 
kansian  were  seeking  a  generic  phrase,  which  would  include 
every  species  of  outrage  upon  the  ballot  ever  invented  by 
man,  he  would  not  be  justifiable  in  terming  it 

"  REPUBLICANIZING   THE   BALLOT?" 

Let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  I  have  not  referred  to  the  testi- 
mony of  Democrats  before  that  committee,  but  to  that  of  Re- 
publicans and  men,  too,  who  had  participated  in  the  outrages 
to  which  they  swore.  They  had  perpetrated  the  outrages  to 
secure  the  election  of  Baxter  as  Governor,  but  when  he 
proved  more  honest  than  they  had  expected,  they  swore 
to  their  own  infamy  to  get  him  unseated,  and  hfTv^ing  been 
sustained  so  long   by  all  departments   of  government,   they 


EECONSTEUCTION  IN  ARKANSAS.  305 

fully  expected  Congress  to  do  their  bidding  and  to  reinstate 
them. 

REVENUES. 

Their  first  revenue  law  is  exquisite  in  the  ingenuity  of  its 
plan  of  plunder. 

Responsible  alone  to  public  sentiment  of  the  Worth,  they 
dared  not  to  make  the  rate  of  taxation  too  exorbitant,  but 
raised  their  enormous  revenues  through  exorbitant  assess- 
ments, which  could  more  readily  be  hidden  from  public  view. 

For  an  illustration,  in  1865,  the  first  year  of  Democratic 
rule  after  the  war  and  before  reconstruction,  the  tax  on  the 
North  1  of  Sec.  1,  T.  4,  S.  R.  2  W.,  was  $2A0.  In  1873, 
the  last  year  of  Republican  rule,  the  tax  on  same  tract  was 
$29.70,  or  upward  of 

TWELVE   TIMES   AS   MUCH. 

Or  to  take  two  other  periods,  in  1888,  when  property  all 
over  Arkansas  was  more  valuable  than  ever  before,  a  house 
and  twelve  lots  in  De  Witt  was  assessed  at  §1060  under 
Democratic  regime. 

In  1871,  under  Republican  rule,  the  same  house,  with  only 
half  as  many  lots  and  not  nearly  so  well  improved,  was 
assessed  at  $4640,  or  nearly  five  times  as  much. 

The  tax  on  the  same  house,  greatly  improved,  with  twelve 
lots,  was  in  1888,  under  Democratic  rule,  $14.60. 

In  1871,  on  same  house  with  only  half  as  many  lots,  under 
Republican  rule,  the  tax  was  $92.80,  or  nearly  seven  times 
as  much. 

These  remarkable  differences  were  effected  through  the  in- 
strumentality ot  their  peculiar  assessment  law.  It  is  a  curi- 
ous document. 

Section  38  gave  the  Governor  power  to  appoint  and  to 
remove  all  assessors. 

Section  156  gave  the  assessor  3 J  percent,  commission  upon 
all  taxes  collected,  as  a  bribe  to  assass  largely. 

Section  47  required  him  to  swear  that  he  had  not  assessed 
any  property  at  less  than  its  cash  value.     He  could  assess  it 

20 


306  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

as  much  more  as  lie  pleased,  and  no  questions  asked.  Not  only 
did  the  governor  hold  the  power  of  removal  m  terrorcm  over 
him;  not  only  did  they  bribe  him  })y  large  commissions; 
not  only  did  they  swear  him  not  to  assess  too  little,  but  Sec- 
tions 53  and  64  made  it  the  duty  of  the  County  Clerk  to  re- 
vise the  assessor's  return  and  to  add  as  much  as  he  saw  fit, 
but  forbade  him  to  reduce  "  in  any  case/' 

Section  154  gave  the  clerk  a  bribe  for  adding  in  the  shape 
of  fees,  the  amount  depending  upon  number  of  words. 

Sections  57  and  QQ^  organized  a  County  Board  of  Equaliza- 
tion, composed  of  this  same  assessor,  this  same  clerk,  and  two 
other  county  officials  interested  in  large  tax  crops.  To  this 
board  the  law  said  : 

You  may  raise  any  assessment  you  think  proper,  or  reduce 
in  any  case  you  wish,  but  you  shall  not  ''  reduce  the  aggre- 
gate value  of  the  property  of  the  county  below  the  aggregate 
value  thereof  as  returned  by  the  assessor  with  the  additions 
of  the  clerk  as  hereinbefore  required." 

Or  as  it  was  construed  and  acted  u})on,  "you  may  take 
from  a  llepublican  as  much  as  you  ])lease,  but  you  must  put 
it  upon  Democrats,  so  as  not  to  reduce  the  aggregate.^ 


yy 


EXTRAVAGANT  RESULTS. 

Under  Democratic  rule  the  amount  expended  for  state  pur- 
poses for  the  two  and  one-half  vears,  from  April  18th,  1864, 
to  October  1st,  1866,  was  only  |1 62,000,  or  $64,000  per 
annum. 

Under  Republican  rule  for  two  years,  ending  October  1st, 
1870,  the  amount  expended  for  state  purposes,  was  $1,949,- 
456.72,  or  upward  of  §974,000  })er  annum,  being  more  than 
fifteen  times  as  much. 

For  two  years  ending  October  1st,  1872,  the  amount  ex- 
pended was  $1,805,137.98,  or  upwards  of  §902,000  per  an- 
num, being  upward  of  fourteen  times  as  much. 

For  the  two  years  ending  October  1st,  1874,  the  amount 
expended  was  $2,529,686.91,  or  upwards  of  §1,264,000  per 
annum,  being  more  than  nineteen  times  as  much. 

In  addition  to  these  amounts  collected  and  expended  during 


RECONSTEUCTION  IN  AKKAXSAS.  307 

these  six  years  iiader  Republican  rule,  they  left  outstand- 
ing claims  amounting  to  |2, 147, 950. 20,  which  have  been  paid 
bv  Democrats  since,  and  which  increases  their  annual  average 
expenditures  to  §1,259,140.03,  or  nineteen  times  as  much  as 
under  Democratic  rule. 

One  item  will  serve  to  account  for  this  vast  difference. 

It  seems  to  have  been  necessary  to  import  carpet-baggers  to 
do  certain  work  of  this  illegitimate  government  from  which 
the  old  citizens  recoiled,  and  when  they  came  to  Little  Rock 
it  was  necessary  to  provide  for  them  until  they  were  needed  in 
their  respective  fields  of  duty.  Accordingly  they  were  put 
upon  the  pay  roll  as  clerks  of  some  of  the  departments.  For 
instance : 

Under  the  Democrats  in  1866,  the  Auditor's  office  included 
that  of  Land  Commissioner.  The  clerk  hire  for  that  year 
amounted  to  §4,373.60. 

Under  Republican  rule  in  1873,  the  office  has  been  divided 
into  two.  The  clerk  hire  in  one  half  (Auditor's  office 
proper)  amounted  during  that  vear  to  §60,461.21.  In  the 
other  half  to  §43,673.30,  being  a  total  of  §104,434.51,  or 
upwards  of  twenty-three  times  as  much.  (See  special  report 
of  Auditor,  January  7th,  1877.) 

That  there  be  no  quibbling  about  periods,  let  us  take  two 
others  for  comparison. 

During  the  six  years  of  Repul:>lican  rule  there  were  expended 
for  state  purposes  (not  including  school  expenses)  a  total  of 
§7,555,840.28,  being  an  average  of  §1,259,140.03  per  annum. 
Of  this  vast  sum  less  than  §iOO,000,  or  one  75th  part,  w^ere 
expended  for  public  improvements. 

During  six  years  of  Democratic  rule,  from  1880  to  1886, 
(after  most  of  the  floating  debt  had  been  paid  off)  the  total  cost 
of  state  government  (not  including  school  expenses)  was  S2,- 
173,446.66,  and  of  this  more  than  §500,000,  or  nearly  one- 
fourth,  was  for  public  buildings. 

Deducting  amount  for  public  buildings  and  we  have  under 
Democratic  rule  for  six  years,  a  total  of  §1,673,446.66,  or 
about  §278,000  per  annum. 

Deducting  amount  for  public  buildings  under  Republican 
rule  and  we  have  left  a  total  of  §7,454,830.21  or  upwards  of 


308  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

$1,242,000  per  annum.  But  it  should  be  remembered  that  a 
very  large  part  of  the  expenses  under  Democratic  rule  is  for 
care  of  state  institutions  built  by  Democrats  and  not  in  ex- 
istence during  the  Republican  regime. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten,  if  we  would  rightly  appreciate 
the  enormity  of  their  plunder,  that  I  have  been  speaking  of 
state  taxes  and  state  expenses  alone.  The  county,  town  and 
school  district  taxes  and  expenses  were  very  much  moreextrav- 
aoraiit  and  burdensome. 

The  rate  ol  taxes  m  the  various  counties  and  towns 
ranged  from  2  per  cent,  to  6  per  cent.,  and  school  district  tax 
from  2  per  cent,  to  3J  per  cent,  and  upon  assessments  often 
more  than  the  property  would  sell  for.  These  enormous 
taxes,  taken  together  with  the  state  tax,  amounted,  in  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  instances,  to  confiscation.  In  Union  County 
hr.ndreds  of  farms  were  abandoned. 

In  Arkansas  Couuty  2,510  tracts  of  land  were  sold  for  taxes 
in  1868. 

In  this  city,*  then  a  village,  in  1873  a  widow  lady,  who 
made  a  living  by  sewing,  was  taxed  §60  on  a  piece  of  a  lot 
fronting  on  a  back  alley  and  having  a  house  which  could  be 
built  for  from  $300  to  $400.  It  was  more  money  than  she 
had  ever  had  at  one  time  in  her  life.  My  wife,  moved  to 
tears  at  her  deep  distress  at  the  prospective  and  inevitable 
loss  of  her  home,  persuaded  me  to  pay  her  taxes  as  an  act  of 
charity. 

The  whole  state  was  filled  with  despondency  and  gloom. 
No  wonder  that  the  next  year  there  was  such  an  overwhelm- 
ing demand  for  the  overthrow  of  the  conspiracy. 

But  the  half  has  not  yet  been  told.  In  addition  to  all 
these  vast  revenues  collected  and  wantonly  expended,  they  left 
the  state  and  every  county,  town  and  school  district  in  the 
state  overwhelmed  with 

DEBTS. 

If  there  is  a  single  exception  I  have  not  been  able  to  find 
it  out. 

I   doubt   not  that  the   aggregate   of  these   county   debts 

*  Fort  Smith. 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  AEKANSAS.  309 

amounted  to  more  than  the  entire  state  debt,  including  the 
fraudulent  bonds  of  the  state,  and  yet  there  was  absolutely 
nothing  to  show  for  them. 

The  school  district  of  Fort  Smith,  for  an  example,  was  left 
so  deeply  in  debt  that  for  several  years  a  number  of  us  had 
to  support  the  public  schools  by  private  subscriptions,  while 
the  entire  tax  was  appropriated  to  paying  off  its  debts. 
'  This  county  was  left  a  debt  of  about  |1 00,000,  with  not 
$500  worth  of  improvements  to  show  for  it. 

The  county  of  Clark  was  left  a  debt  of  $300,000,  of  which 
only  $500  was  expended  in  public  improvements. 

Chicot  County  has  a  debt  of  $400,000,  with  no  quid  pro  quo 
handed  down  from  the  conspiracy. 

Pulaski  County  had  a  debt  left  her  of  nearly,  if  not  quite,  a 
$1,000,000  (including  Little  Eock). 

The  scripts  of  the  various  towns,  counties  and  school  dis- 
tricts were  worth  only  from  10  cents  to  30  cents  on  the  dollar. 
Even  the  state  script,  bearing  5  per  cent,  interest,  was  worth 
only  25  cents  on  the  dollar. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  the  Democrats  got  in  power,  in 
1874,  their  constitution  made  the  maximum  of  state  taxes  1 
per  cent,  (we  levy  only  one-half  of  that),  that  of  the  county 
one-half  of  1  per  cent.,  that  of  cities  and  towns  one-half  of  1 
per  cent.,  that  of  school  districts  one-half  of  1  per  cent.  It 
also  forbids  the  issue  of  any  bonds  or  other  interest-bearing  evi- 
dences of  debt  for  any  purpose  except  to  pay  pre-existing  debts. 

Yet,  notwithstanding  these  low  rates,  we  have  taken  up 
upwards  of  two  millions  of  the  floating  debt  of  the  state,  paid 
off  several  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  bonded  debt,  paid 
oif  nearly  all  the  county  and  school  debts,  have  built  an  hun- 
dred times  as  many  school-houses,  and  twenty  times  as  many 
other  public  improvements  as  did  the  Republicans  with  all 
their  millions  of  revenues,  amounting  to  from  ten  to  nineteen 
times  as  much  as  have  been  exacted  from  the  people  by  the 
Democratic  government. 

In  addition  to  all  these  taxes,  and  county  and  town  and 
school  district  debts,  they  left  us  a  legacy  of  nearly  ten  mil- 
lions of  fraudulent  State  bonds  to  be  dealt  with. 

1st.    Under  a  law,  since  declared  unconstitutional  by  our 


310  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Supreme  Court,  bonds  of  the  state  were  issued,  during  Re- 
construction, to  the  amount  of  $5,350,000  to  certain  railroad 
companies,  all  in  fraud  of  the  law,  even  if  it  had  been  con- 
stitutional. Fi'om  two  to  three  times  as  much  was  issued  to 
each  road  us  the  terms  of  the  law  allowed. 

To  the  M.  &  L.  R.  R.  R.  Co.  was  issued  $1,200,000, 
nearly  three  times  as  much  as  was  allowed  by  the  terms  of 
the  law. 

To  the  L.  R.,  P.  B.  <fe  N.  O.  R.  R.  were  issued— 

Railroad  aid  bonds, $750,000 

Levee  bonds, 320,000 

(See  page  25,  Poland's  report.) 

Of  Chicot  County  bonus, 100,000 

This  company  built  for  all  this  only  twelve  miles  of  road, 
and  then  took  up  the  iron  to  put  it  on  other  roads  to  draw 
bonds  anew. 

To  the  M.  O.  &  R.  R.  R.  R.  (a  member  of  the  Supreme 
Court  being  president)  were  issued  both  railroad  aid  bonds 
and  levee  bonds  and  Chicot  County  bonds — all  fraudulent 
(see  page  25,  Poland's  report  and  official  record). 

And  thus  with  all  the  roads  which  were  corrupt  enough  to 
receive  bonds.  The  road  which  really  meant  to  be  built, 
the  I.  M.  &  S.  R.  R.,  would  not  have  them.  And  every 
road  that  received  them  was  so  much  crippled  that  its  com- 
pletion was  delayed  for  years.  The  state  not  only  did  not 
receive  any  benefits,  but  injury  instead. 

2d.  Under  two  acts  of  the  Legislature  of  1869,  when  a 
few  people  desired  to  have  their  farms  ditched  or  drained, 
they  applied  to  the  Commissioner  of  Public  Works  at  the 
Capital,  who,  if  he  saw  fit,  had  the  ditches  or  drains  made 
(see  acts  March  16th,  1869,  and  Sept.  12th,  1869).  To  pay 
for  them,  all  the  neighbors  who  were  supposed  ta  be  benefitted 
by  them  were  taxed.  Sometimes  farms  in  the  mountains, 
fifteen  miles  away,  were  taxed.  These  payments  were  made, 
in  the  first  place,  in  *^sw^amp-land  warrants.'' 

These  acts  were  so  clearly  unconstitutional,  and  there  was 
so  much  corruption  connected  with  the  issue  of  warrants,  that 
they  became  entirely  worthless;  indeed,  had  no  market  value 
at  all. 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  ARKANSAS.  gH 

In  1871  the  holders,  or  a  number  of  them,  bribed  the 
Legislature  to  pass  the  act  of  March  21st,  1871,  under 
which  these  warrants  were  to  be  taken  up  and  exchanged  for 
bonds  of  the  state,  known  as  "Levee  bonds,"  and  also  made 
receivable  for  lands  of  the  state. 

Under  this  last  act  §3,005,846.05  in  '^ Levee  bonds"  were 
issued,  although  the  act  limited  the  issue  to  three  millions. 

The  act  was  held  void  by  our  Supreme  Court, 

Under  this  act,  also,  bonds  were  to  be  issued  to  railroadu 
whose  beds  were  available  for  levees  or  drains. 

A  Senate  Committee,  in  1883,  reported  thut  under  this  act — 

"The  White  River  Valley  and  Texas  R.  R.  Co.  received  bonds  araount- 
"ing  to  $175,196.36.  There  was  no  such  road.  It  may  have  been  char- 
"  tered,  but  no  such  road  was  ever  built,  and  il'  it  had  been  it  would  have 
"been  worthless  as  a  levee."  (See  report  for  this  as  well  as  other  items  of 
the  great  fraud.) 

The  report  also  says  that  upwards  of  a  million  acres  of  the 
best  lands  of  the  state  were  bought  with  these  worthless 
warrants  under  this  last  act. 

3d.  Under  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  ap})roved  February 
24th,  1838,  the  state  loaned  a  private  bank  in  Little  Rock, 
called  the  ^^Keal  Estate  Bank,''  five  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars in  its  bonds  to  be  sold,  but  at  not  less  than  par,  the 
proceeds  to  be  used  in  starting  a  branch  of  their  bank  in  Van 
Buren,  in  the  western  part  of  the  state. 

The  bank  officers  undertook  to  sell  them  to  the  North 
American  Trust  and  Banking  Company  of  New  York.  The 
company  said  that  they  had  already  floated  as  many  Arkansas 
bonds  as  could  be  floated  at  par,  and  refused  either  to  buy  or 
to  attempt  to  sell. 

The  officers  of  the  bank  then  hypothecated  the  bonds  with 
this  same  company  and  drew  out  upon  their  security  $121,333, 
and  not  for  the  purposes  of  the  act,  but  for  their  own  private 
purposes. 

The  North  American  Company  failed  shortly  afterward, 
owing  one  James  Holford  a  large  amount.  He  found  among 
their  assets  these  five  hundred  $1000  bonds,  and  demanded 
payment  by  the  state.  The  Governor  informed  him  that  the 
bonds  showed  upon  their  face  that  they  were  in  the  possession 


312  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

of  the  Trust  Company  by  fraud,  and  that  they  belonged  not 
to  Holford  but  to  the  state. 

Holford  lield  on  to  the  bonds,  and  in  April,  1869,  he  saw 
his  opportunity  with  the  carpet-bag  Legislature. 

His  agent  asked  them  for  the  ^121,000  drawn  out  by  the 
bank  officers,  together  with  interest.  But  the  Legislature, 
through  lobbyists,  said,  no,  we  will  not  pay  you  this  amount 
of  about  §330,000,  but  if  you  will  put  in  your  claim  for  the 
^500,000,  with  forty  years' interest,  making  in  all  $1,370,000, 
y/e  will  give  you  your  $330,000  and  avc  will  take  the  balance 
as  a  reward  for  our  honesty  ^'in  restoring  the  honor  and 
''credit  of  the  state/' 

This  amount  was  issued  and  so  divided. 

These  three  classes  of  bonds  were  investigated  by  a  com- 
mittee of  the  House,  of  which  I  was  chairman.  The  almost 
unanimous  report  of  the  committee  was  the  following  /an- 
guage  :— 

''Mr.  Speaker:  Your  committee  .  .  .  have  had  in  evidence 
"before  theiu  that  there  was  formed  and  organized  in  tliis  city,  a  combina- 
"tion  of  men,  called  a  'ring,'  wlio  had  a  regular  cypher  by  which  they 
"concealed  their  true  names  in  their  correspondence, 

"  That  this  '  ring '  borrowed  money  from  persons  outside  the  state  for  tlie 
"purpose  of  bribing  the  Funding  Act  of  April  6th,  18G9,  through  the  Le- 
'  gislature,  of  getting  a  distribution  of  the  'railroad  aid'  bond 
"and  that  seventy-five  thousand  dollars  were  subscribed  by  men  interested 
"in  the  levee  contracts  with  which  to  purchase  the  legishition,  which  made 
"  levee  bonds  receivable  for  the  lands  of  the  state.'' 

[Signed]  By  nine  of  committee. 

(One  Republican  dissenting.) 

A  few  samples  may  be  given. 

J.  S.  Haymaker  had  a  contract  for  a  ditch  in  Crawford 
County,  for  which  he  received  three  times  its  cost.  It  bene- 
fitted nobody,  but  farms  up  in  the  mountains  were  taxed  to 
pay  for  it.  Warrants  were  issued  to  him,  which  he  wished 
to  exchange  for  bonds  and  he  was  willing  to  pay  for  the  en- 
actments of  a  law  that  would  benefit  him. 

I  have  in  my  possession  a  check  drawn  by  him  upon  the 
Republican  Bank  in  Little  Rock  for  $2000,  payable  to  the 
Secretary  of  Senate  (whose  father  was  a  senator)  when  the 
act  of  March  21st,  1871,  should  be  passed  without  amend- 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  AEKANSAS.  313 

ment.  Across  the  face  is  the  acceptance  of  the  bank  upon 
conditions  named.  Across  the  face,  also,  is  marked  "paid 
March  21,  1871/^  and  signed  by  the  bank  officials. 

Accompanying  it  the  certificate  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Senate  that  the  bill  had  passed. 

The  partner  of  Mr.  Haymaker  in  the  banking  business,  in 
this  city,  testified  that  "Mr.  Haymaker  was  one  of  the  parties 
"interested  in  levee  contracts.  He  showed  me  a  note  ad- 
"  dressed  to  him  by  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  without 
"signature,  stating  that  he  must  have  $10,000  for  his  support 
"and  infiaence. 

"He  also  told  me  that  he  approached  a  certain  man  in 
"Little  Rock  for  his  support  and  influence  in  favor  of  the 
"levee  act  of  March  21st,  1871,  and  was  told  that  it  could  be 
"had  for  $25,000. 

"This  price  was  refused,  but  afterward  this  same  man 
"(whose  name  I  am  not  certain  of)  was  silenced  by  a  threat 
"to  thwart  his  aspirations  to  a  position  on  the  Supreme  Bench, 
"which  he  afterwards  got." 

A  gentleman  of  high  standing,  who  was  employed  in  the 
offices  of  the  leading  lobbyists,  testified  that  a  certain  dis- 
tinguished member  of  the  Legislature  got  $25,000  for  his 
support  of  the  "Holford  bond,"  or  "funding  bill,^'  of  April 
6th,  1869.  That  member  was  called  before  the  committee, 
but  declined  to  answer,  and  as  we  could  not  force  him  to 
criminate  himself  he  was  excused. 

A  Republican  state  senator  Avho  was  deep  in  the  inside  of 
matters,  after  warding  off  question  after  question  by  the 
chairman,  finally  admitted  that  his  opinion  was  that  the  lob- 
byists, naming  them,  got  $870,000  as  their  share. 

The  people  of  the  state,  after  ten  years'  discussion  through 
the  press  and  on  the  stump,  adopted  an  amendment  to  the 
Constitution  forbidding  the  Legislature  ever  to  pay  either 
principal  or  interest  of  these  three  classes  of  bonds. 

If  this  review  were  not  already  too  long,  I  could  show 
that  the  various  county  and  school  debts  were  equally  fraud- 
ulent. In  many  of  the  counties  script  was  forged  and  then 
bonded. 


314  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

MISCELLANEOUS   OUTRAGES. 

Perhaps  I  can  give  no  better  idea  of  the  condition  and 
spirit  of  affairs  during  reconstruction,  than  by  a  few  simple 
illustrations  of  a  miscellaneous  character. 

No.  1.  A  Judge  of  one  of  the  circuits  carried  with  him 
around  his  circuit  an  armed  squad  of  men,  who  were  placed 
on  guard  at  the  court-house  door,  and  even  around  the  bench. 
A  citizen  of  Carroll  County  was  arrested,  examined  and  com- 
mitted to  answer  at  circuit  court  for  assault  with  intent  to 
kill  J.  T.  Hopper.  The  proof  showed  that  the  judge  was 
himself  implicated  in  a  conspiracy  to  have  Hopper  killed. 
(I  am  informed  that  Hopper  was  a  disgusted  Republican.) 
The  judge  ordered  the  case  dismissed  before  the  grand  jury 
could  act. 

He  also  carried  around  with  him  a  stenographer,  but  no- 
body ever  heard  of  his  having  reported  a  line.  In  Carroll 
County,  this  judge  ordered  the  clerk  to  illegally  issue  to  this 
stenographer  four  hundred  dollars  in  county  script,  but  it  was 
really  to  himself,  for  two  nights  afterward  the  judge  lost  it 
all  at  poker. 

No.  2.  One  of  the  reconstruction  judges  of  our  Supreme 
Court  remarked  to  me  the  first  time  I  ever  met  him,  ^'D — n 
principle;  I  am  for  what  will  win."  This  same  judge,  while 
on  the  bench,  was  a  lobbyist  before  the  Legislature,  and  it 
was  testified  that  he  offered  to  buy  votes  for  a  United  States 
Senator — our  Chief  Justice  being  another  lobbyist.  (See 
pages  91,  92  and  93  of  the  report  of  the  Morrill  committee  to 
United  States  Senate  of  Forty-second  Congress,  third  session.) 

Another  judge,  of  same  court,  offered  to  sell  his  vote  as  a 
member  of  the  Legislature,  and  in  support  of  a  corrupt 
scheme  of  robbery,  for  $25,000,  as  seen  above. 

The  Chief  Justice,  besides  being  a  lobbyist,  as  before  stated 
(as  will  be  seen  from  his  own  testimony,  pages  213-215,  Po- 
land report  No.  2),  was  chief  counselor  in  'Straightening'^ 
out  crooked  certificates  and  returns,  president  of  the  Repub- 
lican newspaper  company,  its  behind-the-throne  editor,  chair- 
man of  the  Re])ublican  State  Central  Committee,  and  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  reconstructed  Arkansas. 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  ARKANSAS.  31 5 

No.  3.  The  clerk  of  Union  County,  when  threatened  with 
prosecution  for  illegally  issuing  script  to  himself,  remarked 
publicly  that,  "I  would  be  a  d — d  fool  to  do  that  when  I 
"have  a  court  which  will  make  me  any  allowance  I  ask  for." 
(His  certificate  elected  the  court  or  defeated  it.) 

The  clerk  of  Clark  County  would  take  the  script  book  with 
him,  walk  into  a  store,  and  asking  how  much  he  owed, 
would  fill  in  a  blank  piece  of  script  with  the  amount  and  pay 
his  debt. 

No.  4.  The  assessor  of  Yell  County  (as  in  others)  assessed 
the  lands  of  Democrats  at  from  two  to  five  times  the  value 
of  lands  of  Republicans  lying  alongside,  having  the  same 
character  and  being  much  better  improved. 

In  this  city  the  assessor  lost  heavily  at  faro  one  night.  I 
was  told  the  next  morning  that  he  rose  from  the  faro  table 
and  remarked,  "Well,  I  don't  know  how  I  will  ever  get  even, 
"unless  I  raise  the  assessments  of  Fishback  or  some  of  these 
"  other  d — d  Democrats.^'  (He  was  entitled  to  3J  per  cent, 
commission  on  the  raise.) 

No.  5.  In  Hot  Springs  County,  in  1873,  the  county  court, 
through  commissioners  appointed  by  himself,  contracted  with 
the  sheriif  to  have  a  court-house  built,  to  be  paid  for  in 
county  bonds.  The  bonds  were  issued  to  the  extent  of  §33,- 
000  worth.  But  the  house  was  not  built.  The  county  did 
nol^  get  even  a  brick-bat  or  nail  in  return  for  about  §70,000, 
which  was  the  total  amount  of  bonds,  interest  and  cost  of 
suit,  which  the  people  have  since  paid. 

The  Democrats  have  paid  this  since  and  built  a  very  fine 
court-house. 

No.  6.  In  Perry  County  the  county  officials  bought  forty 
acres  of  land  only  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  county  site, 
laid  off  a  town  on  this  forty  acres,  and  then  removed  the 
county  site  to  it.  They  then  let  a  contract  to  their  own 
stockholders  in  their  new  site  for  building  a  court-house  at 
three  times  its  value,  and  advanced  money  out  of  the  county 
treasury  with  which  to  purchase  and  erect  a  saw-mill  for  the 
purpose  of  sawing  the  necessary  lumber  for  their  house. 

No.  7.  In  Clark  County  (as  in  several  others)  bonds  of 
the  county   to   the  amount   of  §100,000  were   fraudulently 


316  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

issued  to  a  railroad,  not  a  rod  of  which  was  ever  built.     The 
county  has  had  these  bonds  to  pay. 

In  the  same  county  script  was  forged  to  the  amount  of 
§63,000,  and  afterwards  funded  in  county  bonds.  Suit  was 
brought  by  innocent  holders,  and  it  was  proven  that  they 
were  forged. 

In  the  same  county  the  county  court  paid  out  of  the  county 
treasury  §1,625  to  Republican  lawyers  as  fees  for  defending 
a  contest  of  the  seats  of  judge,  sheriff,  clerk  and  treasurer. 

The  clerk  was  also  allowed  and  paid  $'2,000  for  stationery. 

The  wife  of  the  clerk  testified  that  he  had  forced  her  to 
burn  the  script  book. 

No.  8.  In  Union  County,  where  the  clerk  who  issued 
script  to  himself  resided  and  presided,  the  average  annual 
county  expenditures  during  the  six  years  of  Republican  rule 
amounted  to  $28,982.24.  During  the  last  fourteen  years  of 
Democratic  rule  the  average  annual  expenditures  have 
amounted  to  about  $10,000.  And  much  of  this  has  gone  to 
pay  off  a  debt  of  $35,000  with  interest  left  them  by  Repub- 
lican rule. 

No.  9.  The  spirit  of  the  whole  reconstruction  business 
cannot  be  better  illustrated  than  by  two  little  side  incidents  : 

Mr.  I.  S.  Haymaker,  above  referred  to,  when  he  first  came 
to  Arkansas,  came  to  my  house  to  induce  me  to  go  into  the 
banking  business  with  him.  In  the  course  of  our  conversa- 
tion he  said  that  on  his  way  to  Fort  Smith  his  steamboat 
stopped  at  Little  Rock  nearly  twenty-four  hours.  While  at 
the  wharf  a  certain  man  (naming  him),  from  the  same  town 
in  Ohio  with  himself,  but  now  in  official  position  in  Little 
Rock,  came  aboard  and  said  to  him  :  ^'  Haymaker,  get  out 
''  here.  Here  are  the  finest  pickings.  We  have  got  the  d — d 
'^  rebels  by  the  wool  and  w^e  intend  to  pick  them  as  long  as 
**  there  is  a  lock  of  the  fleece  left." 

When  I  introduced  to  the  constitutional  convention  of  1874 
the  resolution  looking  to  repudiating  the  fraudulent  bonds 
above  described,  a  banker  from  New  York  or  Boston,  I  for- 
get which,  was  at  Hot  Springs,  and  remarked  to  a  distin- 
guished gentleman  of  the  state :  '^  I  have  some  of  those 
"  bonds  myself."     The  gentleman  asked  him  if  he  did  not 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  ARKANSAS.  317 

know  how  fraudulent  they  were,  and  that  the  people  would 
not  pay  them.  He  replied :  ^'  I  don't  think  they  ought  to, 
*'  but  they  only  cost  me  fifteen  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  I  be- 
^'  lieved  the  Republicans  would  hold  this  state  for  the  next 
^'  twenty-five  years  and  in  that  time  I  would  get  a  dollar  for 
"  my  fifteen  cents.'' 

No.  10.  In  Washington  County  the  president  of  the 
board  of  registrars,  in  1872,  and  the  circuit  judge  of  that 
circuit,  had  a  conference  with  Z.  M.  Pettigrew,  an  old  citizen 
who  had  been  sheriff  of  the  county  before  the  war.  They 
informed  him  that  they  forsaw  the  early  overthrow  of  their 
party  (subsequent  events  showed  that  they  were  frightened 
and  wished  to  prepare  for  the  future),  and  they  wished  him, 
although  a  Democrat,  to  be  elected  sheriff,  offering  to  allow 
enough  names  to  remain  on  the  registration  list  to  elect  him 
if  he  would  run.  He  agreed  to  do  so  upon  condition  that 
they  would  elect  P.  R.  Smith,  another  Democrat,  clerk.  To 
this  they  agreed,  and  it  was  accordingly  done — both  were 
elected. 

No.  11.  In  1871  the  governor  of  the  state  was  indicted 
by  a  Republican  grand  jury  of  the  Federal  court  at  Little 
Rock  for  issuing  for  a  corrupt  consideration  a  false  certificate 
of  election  to  John  Edwards  to  Congress  (the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives also  unseated  Edwards  because  the  certificate  was 
false).  The  same  grand  jury  indicted  the  senator  of  Hot 
Springs  County  for  erasing  300  names  from  the  registration 
books  and  inserting  several  hundred  straw  names,  which  he 
and  his  brother  afterwards  fraudulently  voted. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  removed  both  the 
United  States  marshal  and  the  district  attorney  to  protect 
these  men  from  punishment,  and  put  in  their  stead  two 
henchmen  of  the  indicted  governor.  The  man  appointed  as 
district  attorney  had  been  a  member  of  the  governor's  staff 
and  was  known  as  his  serviceable  tool,  but  was  not  known  to 
the  bar  of  the  state.  If  he  had  ever  had  a  case  out  of  a 
justice  of  the  peace's  court  or  of  any  higher  character  than 
small  misdemeanor  in  any  other  court,  it  is  not  generally 
known.  (See  Poland's  report  No.  5,  pages  3,  6,  8,  10,  13, 
20,  21,  22,  25.) 


318  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

No.  12.  In  Fort  Spjith,  in  1872,  rig^lit  under  the  eyes  of  the 
United  States  District  Court  for  the  Western  District  of  Ark- 
ansas, under  whose  exclusive  jurisdiction  the  election  frauds  of 
the  district  had  been  placed  for  the  protection  of  the  people,  a 
long  line  of  negroes  extending  across  the  street  was  stationed 
at  the  polling-place.  As  a  negro  would  vote  he  would  step  out 
and  go  to  the  rear  end  of  the  line  to  keep  out  such  as  they 
did  not  wish  to  offer  to  vote,  but  to  step  out  and  give  phice 
to  such  as  they  desired  to  vote. 

To  prevent  a  riot  on  the  part  of  the  whites,  who  were  thus 
kept  away  from  the  polls,  a  company  of  men  armed  with 
Winchester  rifles  were  stationed  in  a  room  above  the  polling- 
place. 

United  States  District  Judge  W.  W.  Story  appointed  a 
supervisor  of  election  for  the  precinct,  but  the  judges  of  elec- 
tion refused  to  let  him  serve.  This  was  communicated  to  the 
judge,  who,  instead  of  committing  them  for  contempt,  recalled 
the  appointment  and  appointed  another  man,  but  the  judges 
refused  also  to  let  him  act,  and  sent  the  judge  word  that  if  he 
would  appoint  a  certain  other  person  he  would  be  admitted. 
The  United  States  district  judge  did  as  the  men  bade  him. 

4s  heretofore  seen,  the  United  States  marshal  of  this  same 
district  was  a  party  to  the  fraudulent  removal  of  the  precinct 
of  Richland,  in  Crawford  County,  down  to  his  farm  (as  seen 
by  reference  to  Poland  report  above.) 

*  Twenty-five  hundred  nan:ies  of  legal  voters  of  this  legisla- 
tive district  were  erased  from  the  registration  books  by  the 
board  of  review.  One  hundred  and  ten  of  these  were  ex- 
Federal  soldiers.  Thirteen  hundred  names  in  this  county 
alone  were  scratched  off.  (See  testimony  of  one  of  the  reg- 
isters in  Poland  report,  page  70.) 

In  Big  Creek  Township,  in  this  county,  the  name  of  an  old 
Union  man,  who  had  lost  four  sons  in  the  Federal  army,  was 
amono;  those  erased  and  disfranchised,  while  an  armed  militia 
stood  before  the  polling-place  and  threatened  to  arrest  any  one 
who  attempted  to  vote  at  the  side  polls  under  the  enforce- 
ment act. 

The  people  proposed  to  appeal  to  the  court  for  the  punish- 
ment of  these  crimes.     But  the  United  States  Marshal,  him- 


EECONSTRUCTIOX  IN  ARKANSAS.  319 

self  a  partioeps  Griminis,  did  not  summon  the  Grand  Jury 
selected  by  the  Commissioners  in  the  usual  way.  They  at- 
tended court,  however,  and  were  on  hand  ready  to  serve. 
The  court  set  aside  the  panel.  The  Marshal,  instead  of 
summoning  these  good  and  true  men  for  a  new  panel,  called 
persons  whom  he  had  brought  for  the  purpose,  many  of  whom 
had  bften  parties  to  election  frauds.  Thus  not  a  man  was 
punished  or  even  indicted. 

I  drew  up  a  statement  of  the  facts  at  the  time,  which  v/as 
attested  by  twenty-two  members  of  the  bar  in  attendance 
upon  the  court,  and  sent  it  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  But  the  executive,  as  well  as  the  judicial  depart- 
ment of  the  government  was  deaf  to  our  appeals. 

No.  13.  Again  and  again  these  outrages  were  laid  be- 
fore Congress  in  cases  of  contested  seats  both  in  the  Senate 
and  House,  but  in  no  instance  was  any  attempt  made  to 
arrest  them. 

And  when,  in  1874,  Republicans  and  Democrats  alike 
voting  by  the  unprecedented  majority  of  ten  to  one  (in  this 
county,  having  over  900  Republican  votes,  nearly  all  white, 
there  were  only  two  votes  in  opposition),  demanded  a  new 
constitution,  at  once  the  cry  started  at  Hot  Springs,  with 
the  late  O.  P.  ]Morton,  of  Indiana,  then  United  States  Sen- 
ator, and  extended  to  Congress,  that  we  were  engaged  in  a 
revolutionary  proceeding,  and  the  Poland  Committee  was 
sent  to  investigate  us. 

The  report  of  that  committee  should  be  had  by  every 
voter  in  the  North. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  just  here  to  say  that  the  same 
Republican  grand  jury  which  indicted  the  Governor  in  1871 
was  called  to  examine  cases  against  Democrats,  but  could 
hnd  no  proof.     (See  Poland's  report  No.  5,  page  8.) 

AVhat,  then,  is  there  about  the  Republican  ])arty  as  our 
people  know  it  to  commend  it  to  self-respecting,  patriotic 
men  of  the  South? 

In  whatever  attitude  they  have  presented  themselves  to 
us,  whether  as  committing  every  species  of  outrage  upon 
human  rights  to  attain  party  success,  or  as  bitterly  and 
falsely  maligning   the  people    of  the  South   in  every  cam- 


320  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

paign  since  the  war,  or  in  whatever  aspect  they  have  ap- 
peared, they  have  led  our  people  to  believe  their  motive 
and  their  motto  to  be,  as  expressed  by  one  of  their  leaders 
in  this  state:  "D — n  principle;  I  am  for  what  will  win.'' 
Surely,  after  reading  these  facts,  it  will  not  be  necessary 
for  our  candid,  reasonable  fellow-citizens  of  the  North  to 
account  for  the  solidity  of  the  South  upon  the  hypothesis 
of  hostility  to  the  Northern  section  of  our  common  country. 

W.    M.   FiSHBACK. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

RECONSTRUCTION  IN  MISSISSIPPI. 


THE    RECONSTRUCTION    ACTS,    THEIR    DEFINITION,    AND    HOW    THEY 

OPERATED. 

IN  August,  1866,  a  convention  to  promote  the  restoration 
of  the  Union,  which  had  been  broken  by  the  interstate 
war,  was  held  at  Philadelphia.  Addressing  a  committee 
of  that  convention,  communicating  its  proceedings,  President 
Andrew  Johnson,  describing  the  pending  Reconstruction  Acts, 
said :  "  We  have  seen  this  Congress  pretend  to  be  for  the 
Union,  when  its  every  step  and  act  tended  to  perpetuate  dis- 
union and  make  a  disruption  of  the  States  inevitable.  Instead 
of  promoting  restoration  and  harmony,  its  legislation  has  par- 
taken of  the  character  of  penalties,  retaliation  and  revenge.'' 
In  his  message  of  March  2d,  1867,  vetoing  a  bill  "to  provide 
for  the  more  efficient  government  of  the  rebel  States,"  he 
described  it  as  a  measure  not  only  violative  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  but  "  utterly  destructive  of  those 
great  principles  of  liberty  and  humanity  for  which  our  an- 
cestors on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  have  shed  so  much  blood 
and  expended  so  much  treasure."  Demonstrating  the  accu- 
racy of  this  characterization,  he  said  that  the  governments 
provided  by  the  measure  "closely  resembled"  those  which 
had  been  tried  in  Hungary,  Poland  and  Ireland,  and  inflicted 
sufiering  which  "roused  the  sympathies  of  the  entire  world." 
These  declarations  cannot  be  discredited  as  the  testimony  of  a 
wdtnCvSS  biased  toward  the  Southern  people.  Andrew  Johnson 
had  given  the  strongest  proof  of  his  opposition  to  their 
course.  A  Southern  man  by  birth  and  training,  and  once  a 
trusted  leader  of  the  Southern  Democracy,  he  had  forsworn 
his  allegiance  to  his  own  people,  abandoned  them,  attached 
21  321 


322  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

himself  to  the  Republican  party,  a  Northern  sectional  organ- 
ization, and  had  been  elevated  to  the  Presidency  by  virtue  of 
the  office  of  Vice-President,  to  which  he  was  elected  on  the 
Republican  ticket,  as  the  associate  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  He 
had  commended  himself  to  the  favor  of  that  party  by  his 
violent  denunciation  of  the  policy  of  secession,  and  by  his 
speeches  '^breatliing  threatenings  and  slaughter"  against  the 
Southern  people. 

Pretermitting  a  discussion  of  the  causes  which  led  to  the 
war  between  the  states,  the  object  of  this  paper  is  to  show 
that  the  plan  of  reconstruction  devised  and  enforced  by  the 
Republican  party,  and  characterized  as  unconstitutional,  vin- 
dictive and  despotic  by  President  Johnson,  one  of  its  chosen 
apostles,  was  not  justified  by  the  end  which  it  professed  to 
seek  in  waging  w^ar  against  the  Southern  States,  and  was 
without  a  single  palliating  circumstance.  The  writer  speaks 
especially  for  Mississippi,  whose  cause,  however,  was  similar 
to  that  of  her  sister  Confederate  States.  The  inquiry  arises, 
What  was  the  motive  assigned  by  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  in  making  war  against  the  Southern  States?  It  is 
answered  by  a  resolution  which  passed  Congress  in  July, 
1861,  declaratory  of  the  objects  of  the  war,  as  follows : — 

'*i^eso/t'e(/,"  etc.,  .  .  "that  this  war  is  not  waged  upon 
our  part  in  any  spirit  of  oppression,  nor  for  any  purpose  of 
conquest  or  subjugation,  nor  puq^ose  of  overthrowing  or  in- 
terfering with  rights  or  established  institutlonsof  those  States, 
but  to  defend  and  maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, and  to  preserve  the  Union  with  all  the  dignity,  equality 
and  rights  of  the  several  States  unimpaired,"  etc.,  etc.  The 
evidence  is  incontrovertible  that  the  purpose  here  set  forth 
was  practically  attained  when,  overwhelmed  by  the  superior 
military  resources  of  the  United  States  Government,  the 
armies  of  the  Confederate  States  surrendered  after  a  long  and 
unequal  contest  and  their  government  was  dissolved. 

Mississippi's  prompt  acquiescence. 

Immediately  upon  the  surrender  of  the  southern  armies, 
the  Governor  of  Mississippi,  Hon.  Charles  Clarke,  issued  his 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  MISSISSIPPI.  323 

proclamation  convening  the  Legislature  for  the  avowed  pur- 
pose of  recognizing  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  and 
restoring  the  State  to  harmonious  relations  to  that  government. 
His  prompt  action  meant  the  sanction  by  Mississippi  of  the 
amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  abolish- 
ing slavery ;  the  enforcement  of  legislation  consistent  with 
this  organic  change  in  the  institution  of  the  State ;  the  election 
of  Senators  and  Kepresentatives,  and  all  other  acts  essential 
to  the  complete  restoration  of  the  State  to  the  Union.  As  soon 
as  the  Legislature  assembled  to  carry  out  this  purpose,  it  was 
dissolved  by  the  edict  of  a  military  commander.  The  Gover- 
nor, when  in  the  very  act  of  co-operating  wath  it  for  this 
avowed  object,  was  arrested  and  carried  under  military  escort 
to  prison  in  a  distant  state.  If  it  was  truthfully  declared  in 
the  resolution  above  quoted  that  the  war  was  prosecuted  "  to 
preserve  the  Union  with  all  the  dignity,  equality  and  rights 
of  the  States  unimpaired,"  the  removal  of  the  Governor,  and 
the  dispersion  of  the  Legislature  v^diile  in  the  act  of  comply- 
ing with  the  requirement  of  the  government,  was  unnecessary 
and  absolutely  despotic.  A  striking  proof  of  the  inconsistency 
of  President  Johnson  is  that  the  order  for  this  arbitrary  pro- 
ceeding emanated  from  him  as  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States.  It  will  be  remember- 
ed that  in  his  message  of  March  2d,  18(37,  he  stated  that 
Mississippi  (in  common  with  the  other  seceding  States)  "  had  an 
actual  government  with  all  the  powers,  executive,  judicial 
and  legislative,  which  belonged  to  a  free  state.''  The  machinery 
for  managing  their  domestic  concerns  has  never  been  dis- 
turbed. Their  subsequent  action  during  his  administration 
served  to  bring  forth  in  bold  relief  the  patient  endurance  of 
the  people  of  the  State,  and  a  perfect  good  faith  of  their  de- 
clared intention  to  restore  it  to  the  Union.  Setting  aside  the 
quick  and  ready  plan  already  adopted  by  them.  President 
Johnson  appointed  Hon.  W.  L.  Sharkey,  the  most  prominent 
of  the  original  Union  men  in  the  state.  Provisional  Governor. 
Acting  in  obedience  to  the  order  of  the  President,  Governor 
Sharkey  on  July  1st,  1865,  issued  his  proclamation  stating 
that  he  had  been  commissioned  as  Provisional  Governor  ^^  for 
the  purpose  of  enabling  the  loyal  people  of  the  state  to  organ- 


324  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

ize  a  state  government;''  and  to  accomplish  this  object  he 
had  been  directed  ''  at  tlie  earliest  practicable  period  to  pre- 
scribe such  rules  and  regulations  as  may  be  necessary  and 
proper  for  convening  a  convention  of  delegates  to  be  chosen 
by  that  portion  of  the  people  of  the  State  who  are  loyal  to  the 
United  States,  and  none  others,  for  the  purpose  of  altering  or 
amending  the  Constitution  thereof  so  that  the  State  may  be 
able  to  resume  its  place  in  the  Union."  The  Provisional 
Governor  in  order  to  expedite  the  restoration  of  the  State  to 
^  the  Union,  continued  in  the  discharge  of  their  functions  the 
local  and  county  officers  who  were  in  office  when  the  armies 
of  the  Confederacy  surrendered,  reserving  the  authority,  how- 
ever, to  remove  such  incumbents  as  were  '^  not  loyal  to  the 
government  of  the  United  States.''  He  earnestly  invoked 
*'  loyal  citizens  to  give  timely  information  in  regard  to  any 
officer  obnoxious  to  the  serious  objection  "  of  disloyalty.  In 
this  proclamation.  Governor  Sharkey  said  "  the  negroes  are 
free,  free  by  the  fortunes  of  war,  free  by  common  consent, 
free  practically  as  w^ell  as  theoretically,  and  it  is  too  late  to 
raise  a  technical  question  as  to  the  means  by  which  they 
became  so ; "  that  "  the  paramount  duty  before  us,  was  the 
business  of  improving  our  government,  if  it  should  be  found 
to  need  it,  and  of  promoting  reconciliation  between  the 
Northern  and  Southern  people."  The  convention  which 
assembled  in  obedience  to  this  call,  was  composed  almost  ex- 
clusively of 

ORIGINAL   UNION   MEN 

— "  of  gentlemen,"  to  borrow  the  language  of  one  of  its  promi- 
nent members,  "  wdio  held  oj^inions  directly  theojiposite  of  those 
of  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis."  The  convention  adliered  strictly  to 
the  line  of  policy  indicated  by  the  Governor  ;  and  its  j)resid- 
ing  officer  at  the  conclusion  of  its  business,  in  his  valedictory 
said,  that  it  "  had  acted  with  a  determined  purpose  to  cherish 
to  the  last  day  of  our  generation,  and  hand  down  to  our  chil- 
dren to  protect  and  cherish  forever  the  Constitution  and  the 
Union  of  the  States."  The  convention  besides  framing  an 
organic  law  adapted  to  the  changed  condition  of  the  State, 
provided,  also,  for  the  election  of  State  officers,  members  of  a 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  MISSISSIPPI.  325 

Legislature  soon  to  be  assembled,  and  of  Senators  and  Repre- 
sentatives in  Congress.  The  civil  and  military  leaders  who 
had  been  jDromineut  in  the  secession  movement,  either  betook 
themselves,  or  were  sent,  to  the  rear ;  but  candor  requires 
that  it  should  be  stated  that  this  disposition  of  them  was  not 
due  to  the  belief  of  any  considerable  number  of  the  people 
that  they  should  be  put  under  the  ban.  It  was  in  accord 
with  the  eternal  fitness  of  things,  and  a  concession  to  what 
was  understood  to  be  the  predominating  Northern  idea  that 
the  execution  of  the  plan  of  restoring  the  state  to  the  Union 
should  be  confided  to  those  who  had  opposed  secession.  In 
answering  the  summons  to  come  unto  the  marriage,  the  people 
aimed  to  present  themselves  in  a  garb  suited  to  the  occasion, 
and  to  furnish  no  excuse  for  their  rejection. 

THE  CONCURRENT  TESTIMONY  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON 
AND  GENERAL  GRANT. 

President  Johnson  signalized  the  event  by  a  message  to 
Congress,  December  5,1865,  stating  that*' the  rebellion'* 
(his  language  not  mine)  "  had  been  suppressed ;  that  the 
United  States  are  in  possession  of  every  State  in  which  the 
insurrection  had  existed  ;  and  that  so  far  as  could  be  done 
the  courts  of  the  United  States  had  been  restored  ;  post-offices 
had  been  re-established,  and  steps  taken  to  put  into  effective 
operation  the  revenue  laws  of  the  country.'^  He  said  that 
*'  the  Southern  States , '  (naming  Mississippi  among  them) 
*'  have  re-organized  their  respective  State  Governments,  and 
are  yielding  obedience  to  the  laws  and  Government  of  the 
United  States  with  more  willingness  and  greater  promptitude 
than  under  the  circumstances  could  reasonably  have  been  an- 
ticipated ;  the  amendment  abolishing  slavery  had  been  rati- 
fied, and  that  measures  had  been  adopted,  or  are  now  pending, 
to  confer  upon  the  freedmen,  the  rights  and  privileges  which 
are  essential  to  their  comfort,  security  and  protection."  His 
message  was  supplemented  by  a  report  from  General  Grant 
who  had  been  directed  to  make  a  tour  of  inspection  through 
the  Southern  States.  In  this  report,  dated  December,  1865, 
General  Grant  said  :  "With  the  approval  of  the  President  and 


326  WHY  TIII^  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Secretary  of  War,  I  left  Washington  City  on  the  27th  of  last 
jHionth  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  tour  of  inspection  in  the 
Southern  States.  ...  I  am  satisfied  that  the  mass  of 
tliinking  men  of  the  South  accept  the  present  situation  of 
affairs  in  good  faith.  .  .  .  There  is  universal  acquiescence  in 
the  authority  of  the  general  Government,  etc.  .  .  .  My 
observations  lead  me  to  the  conclusion  that  they  (the  citizens 
of  the  Southern  States)  are  anxious  to  return  to  self-govern- 
ment within  the  Union  as  soon  as  possible ;  .  .  .  that 
they  are  in  earnest  in  wishing  to  do  what  they  think  is  re- 
quired by  the  Government,  not  humiliating  to  them  as  citi- 
zens, and  that  if  such  a  course  was  pointed  out,  they  would 
pursue  it  in  good  faith.'' 

THE  STATE,   NEVERTHELESS,    PUT   UNDER   MILITARY 

DESPOTISM. 

After  such  prompt  compliance  with  every  demand  which 
had  been  made  by  the  United  States  authorities,  and  the  com- 
plete accomplishment  of  the  purposes  of  the  war  as  declared 
by  the  resolution  of  July,  18G1,  future  generations  in  study- 
ing the  history  of  those  eventful  times,  will  be  amazed  and 
shocked  that  the  party  which  dominated  the  Government,  re- 
fused to  recognize  the  right  of  the  Slate  to  be  restored  to  the 
Union;  refused  to  admit  her  Senators  and  Kepresentatives 
to  Congress ;  abolished  her  Government  with  its  Constitution 
prohibiting  slavery ;  obliterated  every  vestige  of  civil  au- 
thority, and  divided  the  seceding  States  into  five 


MILITARY  DISTRICTS 


» 


subject  to  the  control  of  officers  of  the  United  States  Army, 
with  soldiers  in  readiness  to  execute  their  orders.  In  a  word, 
all  the  time-honored  safeguards  of  freedom  were  set  aside, 
and  the  will  of  these  military  chiefs  became  the  supreme  law. 
They  were  clothed  with  autocratic  power  over  the  unfortu- 
nate inhabitants  who  had  been  promised  restoration  to  the 
Union  "  with  all  the  dignity,  equality  and  rights  of  the  state, 
unimpaired.'^  The  pretended  motive  for  this  arbitrary  meas- 
ure was  that  '^the  civil  governments  in  the  rebel  States  were 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  MISSISSIPPI.  327 

not  legal  governments/'     It  has  been  seen   that  this  was  an 
assumption  utterly  witliout  foundation. 

The  military  governments  were  characterized  by  the  most 
horrible  excesses.  Their  establishment  was  preliminary  to  a 
call  by  each  of  the  military  commanders,  for  conventions  to 
frame  other  constitutions,  and  impose  other  conditions  not 
embraced  in  the  resolution  of  July,  1861,  harsh,  vindictive 
and  humiliating.  A  very  large  number  of  capable  and  patri- 
otic white  citizens,  though  they  had  renewed  dieir  allegiance 
to  the  Union,  were  debarred  from  voting  in  the  election  of 
members  to  the  convention.  Test  oaths  with  fearful  penalties 
were  devised  for  the  exclusion  of  the  proscribed  classes. 
With  these  exceptions,  every  male  person  of  legal  age,  resi- 
dent in  the  state,  including  negroes  who 

DID   NOT   KNOW   WHAT   VOTING   MEANT 

and  were  totally  ignorant  of  the  responsibilities  of  citizenship, 
were  authorized  to  vote  and  to  become  members  of  the  con- 
vention on  which  was  devolved  the  momentous  duty  of  framing 
the  organic  law  of  the  commonwealth.  The  bill  provided 
complete  machinery  for  putting  the  scheme  into  execution.  It 
was  as  repulsive  as  it  could  be  made  to  men  '^in  whose  veins 
the  blood  of  freedom  circulated.'^  The  hapless  people  were  put 
in  a  fearful  dilemma,  between  the  devil  and  the  deep  sea. 
Their  only  escape  from  the  horrid  rule  of  inexperienced  and 
(in  some  instances)  brutal  military  chiefs,  was  through  the 
wilderness  of  a  civil  government  framed  by  alien  rascal- 
lions  and  ignorant  negroes.  Outraged  by  previous  bad  faith 
and  despairing  of  being  able  to  propitiate  the  dominant  party 
of  the  Union,  many  worthy  citizens  who  had  been  active  in 
the  plan  originally  prescribed  by  President  Lincoln  and 
adopted  by  his  successor  for  restoring  the  State  to  the  Union, 
made,  as  I  then  thought,  and  still  believe,  the  mistake  of 
standing  aloof  and  refusing  to  take  part  in  this  latter  scheme 
of  reconstruction,  but  in  justification  of  their  course,  to  quote 
the  language  of  John  Q.  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  it  should 
be  remembered  that  the  authors  of  the  measure,  "  had  scorned 
their  protests,  repelled  their  aid,  insulted  their  misery,  and 
inflicted  on  them  an  abasement  which  they  fer  to  be  iutoler- 


328  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

able,  in  postiog  over  them  their  slaves  of  yesterday,  to  secure 
their  pledge  of  submission  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
Slates/^  In  a  few  counties  capable  and  patriotic  men  were 
elected  to  the  convention,  but  they  were  shining  exceptions 
to  the  rule  of  ignorance  and  depravity  which  pervaded  what 
became  memorable  as 

THE  BLACK  AND  TAN  CONVENTION. 

The  reconstruction  acts  were  general  invitations  to  un- 
principled adventurers,  offscourings  of  the  white  race,  from 
every  part  of  the  country,  to  come  and  ally  themselves  with 
the  late  slaves,  and  organize  a  local  government  which,  while 
serving  as  an  agency  of  plunder,  would  increase  the  strength 
of  the  dominant  party  in  both  branches  of  Congress  and  the 
electoral  college.  In  the  qualities  of  ignorance,  corruption 
and  depravity,  the  convention  was  all  that  the  imagination 
could  conceive.  It  was  a  fool's  paradise  for  the  negroes  Avho 
undertook  to  perform  what  they  were  incapable  of  doing,  and 
as  to  their  mercenary  white  leaders,  ^'  the  stream  of  purpose 
which  ran  through  all  their  actions  was  plunder  and  re vx'uge.^^ 
Not  one  of  the  authors  and  abettors  of  the  plan,  was  actuated 
by  a  higher  motive  than  party  success.  Not  one  of  them  be- 
lieved that  it  would  promote  the  restoration  of  the  Union  to 
substitute  the  rule  of  knaves  and  negroes,  for  the  State  govern- 
ments which  they  had  overthrown.  They  knew  the  deprav- 
ity of  the  white  renegades  whom  they  had  commissioned  to 
do  this  Avork,  and  they  knew  (to  employ  the  language  of  a 
Northern  statesman  and  Union  soldier)  that  "  in  the  whole 
historic  period  of  the  world,  the  negro  race  had  never  esta- 
blished or  maintained  a  government  for  themselves,^^  much 
less  had  they  shown  their  competency  to  govern  the  white 
race.  The  convention  dragged  its  slow  length  through  many 
long,  weary  months.  Its  members  lived  in  a  state  of  luxuiy 
unknown  to  their  previous  habits.  They  voted  themselves 
ten  dollars  a  day  and  paid  their  innumerable  employees  wages 
correspondingly  high.  Its  cost  aggregated  nearly  a  quarter  mil- 
lion of  dollars  which  they  extorted  from  the  impoverished 
white  people  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  wielded  by  the  mili- 
tary chiefs  who  were  holding  them  in  subjection.  One  of  their 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  'MISSISSIPPI.  329 

tax  bills,  however,  was  so  manifestly  a  robbing  device,  so  cruel 
and  extortionate,  that  even  the  commanding  general  moved 
to  compassion,  interposed  his  autocratic  power  and  annulled 
it.  Many  of  the  members  had  no  local  habitation  in  the 
counties  they  pretended  to  represent,  nor  employment  ex- 
cept as  law  makers  for  the  people  among  whom  they  did  not 
reside,  and  over  whom  they  had  come  to  rule.  When  the 
labors  of  this  motley  assembly  came  to  an  end, 

THE    INSTRUMENT   WHICH   THEY   CALLED   A   CONSTITUTION, 

proved  to  be  worthy  of  its  parentage  :  '^  a  league  with  death 
and  a  covenant  with  hell."  If  it  had  been  permitted  to  stand 
as  it  came  from  the  hands  of  its  authors,  it  would  have  per- 
manently disfranchised  many  of  the  intelligent  tax-payers  and 
best  citizens  of  the  white  race.  It  was  a  cunningly-devised 
scheme  to  create  a  multiplicity  of  offices,  and  to  make  the 
State  government  a  close  corporation  for  the  benefit  of  the 
cormorants.  It  professed  to  '^establish  justice,'^  and  yet  it 
would  have  excluded  nearly  one-half  of  the  intelligent  white 
citizens  of  the  State  from  participation  in  the  government, 
other  than  in  bearing  its  burdens.  It  pretended  that  it  was 
designed  to  "  maintain  order,'^  and  yet  it  contained  the  germs 
of  inevitable  disorder.  It  professed  that  it  was  designed  to 
''  perpetuate  liberty,"  and  yet  it  would  have  practically  en- 
slaved a  large  number  of  the  free  born  white  people  of  the 
State.  The  test  oath  which  it  prescribed,  according  to  the  testi- 
mony of  one  of  the  conspirators,  was  intended  ^'  as  a  perma- 
nent feature  of  the  constitution  for  all  offices  from  Governor 
to  Constable."  (Tarbell's  testimony  before  Congressional 
Committee,  276.)  It  went  to  the  extreme  of  disfranchising 
those  who  had  charitably  contributed  to  the  relief  of  sick  and 
suffering  Confederate  soldiers.  The  father  who  had  furnished 
food  and  raiment  to  his  son  serving  in  the  Confederate  army, 
was  made  to  pay  the  penalty  of  political  death  unless  he  would 
purge  himself  of  the  imputed  crime  by  taking  the  oath  that 
he  had  not  been  guilty  of  it.  The  colored  man  who  had  vol- 
untarily remained  at  home,  and  raised  corn  and  meat  for  the 
subsistence  of  the  Southern  soldiers,  could  not  have  voted 
without  incurring  the  penalty  affixed  to  the  offense. 


330  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

It  is  the  purpose  of  the  writer  to  note  only  the  proseriptive 
features  of  the  constitution  though  it  contained  many 

OTHER   ODIOUS   PROVISIONS. 

It  authorized  the  creation  of  sinecures  without  limit.  Its 
authors  did  even  worse.  They  empowered  the  Legislature  to 
supersede  the  time-honored  and  impartial  system  of  trial 
by  jury  of  the  vicinage,  by  providing  for  the  indictment  and 
trial  of  persons  charged  with  crime  in  any  county  other  than 
the  one  in  which  it  was  alleged  to  have  been  committed  (Art. 
12,  Sec.  4).  Transportation  for  trial  was  one  of  the  griev- 
ances enumerated  by  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Ameri- 
can Independence  against  the  British  crown,  and  for  resisting 
which,  they  made  their  appeal  to  a  candid  world.  And  even 
worse,  the  wicked  defiance  of  the  law  of  Almighty  God  to 
divide  human  beings  into  distinct  races,  and  the  institution  of 
a  beastly  system  of  mongrelism  usually  called  "  social  equal- 
ity/^ cropped  out  in  every  part  of  the  scheme.  The  intent 
was  show^n  in  the  public  school  system  for  which  it  provided, 
and  in  the  clauses  relating  to  public  conveyances  and  to  State 
charitable  institutions.  These  provisions,  according  to  their 
original  intent,  have  passed  into  "  innoxuous  desuetude '^ 
under  the  invincible  determination  of  the  white  race,  but  this 
does  not  change  their  meaning,  and  the  design  of  the  framers. 

THE  PROPOSED   CONSTITUTION   REJECTED. 

The  supplementary  reconstruction  bill  provided  that  the 
Constitution  should  be  submitted  for  ratification  to  the  per- 
sons who  were  allowed  to  vote  on  the  question,  within  thirty 
days.  With  a  determination  born  of  desperation,  the  white 
people  of  the  State  arose  in  a  body  and  concentrated  their  en- 
ergies to  reject  the  proposed  constitution.  By  the  force  of 
will  resistless  as  the  cyclone  when  it  takes  its  march,  and 
which  swept  multitudes  of  colored  men  into  their  movement, 
the  scheme  was  rejected,  and  with  it  the  men  w^ho  had  been 
selected  by  the  adventurers  to  fill  the  offices  they  had  created. 

But  now  comes 


BECONSTHUCTION  IN  MISSISSIPPI.  331 

A   STILL   DAEKER   CHAPTER 

in  the  history  of  these  disgraceful  times.  The  authors  of  the 
constitution,  disappointed  by  the  failure  of  their  scheme, 
refused  to  abide  by  the  decision,  though  the  election  upon  the 
question  of  ratification  was  held  under  the  rigid  regulations 
and  strict  surv^eillance  of  the  military  commander,  who,  on 
oath,  stated  that  he  had  held  a  fair  election  ;  that  his  subordi- 
nates "  were  selected  on  account  of  their  firmness,  experience, 
and  moral  character;"  and  that  ''they  were  all  officers  of  the 
Union  army  who  had  served  during  the  rebellion."  To 
secure  ^'a  fair  election"  he  had  stationed  troops  at  sixty 
places  within  the  State,  and  they  were  promptly  sent  to  every- 
place "  wdiere  reports  were  made  that  intimidation  was  threat- 
ened." The  whole  business  was  in  the  hands  of  the  military. 
The  only  privilege  which  the  commander  vouchsafed  to  the 
white  residents  w^as  to  vote,  and  even  this  privilege  was  de- 
nied to  a  large  number  of  them.  The  right  of  freely  discuss- 
ing it  was  frequently  interfered  with.  Nevertheless,  it  was 
swept  aside  by  the  aroused  people  like  chaff  before  the  wind, 
a  signal  instance  of  the  utter  impotence  of  any  device,  how- 
ever cunningly  contrived,  to  hold  the  white  race  in  permanent 
subjection  to  the  rule  of  an  inferior  race. 

HOW   THE   CONSPIRACY   WAS   WORKED. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  narrate  the  unscrupulous  means 
which  were  employed  to  force  the  disfranchising  Constitution 
upon  an  unwilling  people.  The  conspiracy  was  Avorked 
mainly  by  a  '^  committee  of  five,"  who  issued  a  manifesto, 
declaring  that  the  counties  of  Carroll,  Copiah,  Chickasaw, 
Desoto,  Lafayette,  Rankin  and  Yallobusha,  had  been  carried 
against  the  Constitution  by  fraud,  intimidation  and  violence, 
and  should  be  deprived  of  representation  in  the  Legislature, 
the  State  offices,  and  in  Congress.  The  petition  to  the  Fed- 
eral authorities  to  put  the  proposed  Government  into  opera- 
tion, notwithstanding  the  rejection  of  the  Constitution,  was 
supported  by  perjured  testimony,  imputing  the  most  out- 
rageous crimes  to  the  persons  wdiom  they  sought  to  place 
under  permanent  disability.     A  specimen  of  the  pretended 


332  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

testimony  of  the  baffled  conspirators  will  suffice:  One  "T. 
Vi.  Stringer,"  a  colored  importation  from  Ohio,  swore  that 
the  late  venerable  Chief  Justice  Sharkey,  whose  life  had  ex- 
euiplified  the  Christian  virtues  of  peace  and  good-will  to 
men,  at  the  head  of  an  armed  band,  had  assaulted  the  "Com- 
mittee of  Five''  when  engaged  in  its  virtuous  task  of  investi- 
gating the  election ;  and  that  the  military  commander  himself 
did  not  perform  his  duty  faithfully  in  the  management  of  the 
election.  Also,  that  "in  a  fair  election  twenty-five  colored 
men  would  not  have  voted  against  the  Constitution,"  not- 
withstanding its  proscriptive  clauses. 

On  the  recommendation  of  President  Grant,  Congress 
passed  an  act  providing  for  another  election,  which  secured  to 
the  people  an  opportunity  to  vote  uj:)on  the  disfranchising 
clauses  separately,  and  at  the  same  time  for  State  officers, 
members  of  the  Legislature,  and  Representatives  in  Congress. 
The  scheme  included  the  sanction  of  the  Fourteentli  and  Fif- 
teenth Amendments,  which  incorporated  in  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  suffrage  in  the  States  without  regard  to 
race,  color,  or  previous  condition.  It  was  a  revolutionary 
measure,  violative  of  the  compact  of  Union,  which  required 
that  the  Constitution  should  be  amended  by  the  voluntary 
action  of  the  States  and  not  by  the  declaration  of  Congress. 
It  was  a  departure  from  the  resolutions  which  passed  that 
body  in  July,  1861,  declaratory  of  the  purposes  of  the  war. 
This  election  was  held  on  the  30th  of  November,  1869. 
Driv^en  to  the  alternative  of  a  choice  between  military  des- 
potism and  a  local  government  under  the  constitution  as 
changed,  the  Avhite  people  chose  the  latter,  with  the  hope  of 
discarding  the  organic  law  made  by  the  carpet-baggers  and 
negroes  and  reestablishing  home  rule  in  the  not  distant  future. 

Meantime,  the  adventurers  had  industriously,  and  by  the 
most  insidious  method,  drilled  the  negroes,  who  composed  a 
large  majority  of  the  voting  population,  into  partisan  activity. 
They  organized  them  into  secret  conspiracies,  known  as 

LOYAL   LEAGUES, 

and  with  oaths,  bound  them  to  do  their  bidding.    By  appeals 
to  their  fears  and  to  their  instinct  of  race,  and  by  deceptive 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  MISSISSIPPI.  333 

promises  of  blessiogs  which  they  could  never  realize,  and  di- 
viding v>^ith  them  the  innumerable  offices  for  which  provision 
was  made  in  the  Constitution  they  had  artfully  framed,  the 
negroes  became  for  six  years  pliant  instruments  in  the  hands 
of  the  adventurers.  The  purpose  of  the  organic  law  which 
they  had  originated,  and  their  every  device,  tended  to  the  one 
object  of  robbing  and  luxuriating  upon,  the  labor  of  the  im- 
poverished people.  Having  the  entire  election  machinery  in 
their  control  and  the  army  at  their  command,  they  secured 
four-fifths  of  the  Legislature  (the  white  counties  having  been 
deprived  of  equal  representation  by  a  discriminating  and 
iniquitous  apportionment),  elected  their  ticket  for  State 
officers  and  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress.  In  a 
word,  mongrelism,  ignorance  and  depravity  were  installed. 
The  State  had  been  *''  reconstructed ''  after  the  most  approved 
fashion  of  Thad.  Stevens,  Charles  Sumner,  O.  P.  Morton, 
John  Sherman  and  other  great  Republican  leaders,  w'ho  looked 
complacently  on  their  w^ork  and  said  it  was  good.  The 
Legislature  was  composed  mainly  of 

NEGROES  AND  CARPET  BAGGERS, 

with  a  small  ingredient  of  honest  and  capable  citizens  of 
Avhite  counties  which  had  been  allowed  meagre  representa- 
tion. One  of  the  persons  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate 
w^as  a  negro,  a  new-comer  froni  some  other  part  of  the  coun- 
try ;  and  the  other  was  Adelbert  Ames,  an  army  officer  who  had 
superintended  the  election  and  of  whom  it  w^as  truthfully 
said  by  Hon.  J.  L.  Alcorn,  another  Republican,  '^  He  does 
not  live  here  ;  he  has  no  interest  in  Mississippi  except  simply 
to  hold  an  office  as  long  as  that  office  continues ;  and  when 
the  office  ends,  he  is  done  with  Mississippi.^^  He  was  subse- 
quently transferred  from  the  United  States  Senate  to  the 
office  of  Governor.  The  most  becoming  act  of  this  adven- 
turer was  his  resignation  of  the  latter  office  and  departure  for 
his  home  in  the  North  pending  articles  of  impeachment. 
Every  department  of  the  State  government  was  in  the  con- 
trol of  the  adventurers  and  negroes.  The  latter  race  had  a 
majority  in  the  Legislature,  and  on  several  occasions,  drew 


334  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

the   color   line   and   asserted   their    supremacy.     It   can   be 
readily  seen  that  ^' reconstruction '^  meant 

ORGANIZED   WAR   BETWEEN   THE    RACES. 

There  could  be  no  peace,  prosperity  nor  order  in  a  State 
thus  governed.  The  era  of  niongrelism  was  an  era  of 
anguish  and  antagonism  ;  an  era  of  fraud  and  profligacy. 
The  authoritias  of  the  State  did  not  reflect  the  will  nor  pro- 
mote the  welfare  of  the  peo})le.  Unprincipled  adventurers, 
and  their  illiterate  and  ambitious  negro  allies,  ruled  and 
robbed.  Justice  was  bought  and  sold.  Taxes  amounted  to 
confiscation.  Labor  was  robbed  of  its  earnings.  The  demon 
of  strife  like  ^'a  fury  crowned  with  thorns^'  was  turned 
loose.  Chaos  had  come  again.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  at  the  close  of  the  war,  the  people  of  Mississippi  had 
been  brought  to  the  lowest  depths  of  poverty,  always  excepting 
the  Dugald  Dalgettys,  who,  professing  to  be  on  either  side,  as 
occasion  offered,  levied  contributions  on  both.  Landlords 
found  their  estates  encumbered  and  run  to  waste.  They  were 
pursued  with  remorseless  greed  by  rapacious  creditors. 
Their  laboring  capital  was  gone.  Their  dwellings  were 
dilapidated  or  totally  destroyed.  Their  gin  houses  were 
dismantled  or  burned.  Their  fences  rotted  down.  The  mer- 
chants, finding  their  means  swept  out  of  existence,  were 
forced  to  compromise  with  creditors  upon  terms  which  under 
other  circumstances  would  have  been  discreditable.  The  con- 
dition of  the  emancipated  race  was  deplorable.  Traditional 
slaves,  the  responsibilities  of  freedom  and  citizenship  were 
put  upon  them  suddenly  when  they  were  incapable  of  bearing 
them.  The  idea  they  had  of  freedom  was  that  it  would 
relieve  them  of  the  necessity  of  labor,  and  license  them  to 
live  in  idleness,  and  to  indulge  in  w^hatever  propensity  they 
might  desire  to  follow.  Every  expedient  was  devised  by 
their  self-constituted  guardians  to  mislead,  to  deceive  and  rob 
them  of  their  scanty  earnings.     A 

GIGANTIC    SWINDLING   AGENCY 

known  as  the  Freed  men's  Savings  Bank,  was  established  at 
Washington,    with   br'anches   extending   through   the   negro 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  MISSISSIPPI.  335 

centres  of  the  South,  by  the  preteDded  benefactors  of  the 
freedraen.  Into  this  concern  they  were  induced  to  deposit 
their  small  earnings,  which  were  greedily  seized  and  appropri- 
ated by  the  human  vultures.  These  deposits  have  not  yet 
been  returned,  and  though  nearly  all  of  the  original  victims 
have  passed  away,  claim  agents,  in  the  hope  of  reaping  a 
reward,  are  beseiging  Congress  for  an  appropriation  to  refund 
them  out  of  the  Federal  treasury.  While  white  and  black 
were  struggling  in  the 

SLOUGH   OF   A   CO:NrMON   CALAMITY, 

such  "  reconstruction  ^'  as  I  have  described  was  inaug^urated. 
The  various  departments  of  the  State  government  Avere  filled 
for  the  most  part  as  Horace  Greeley  said,  by  "  rascally  advent- 
urers and  refuse  of  Northern  society  who  came  South,  out  at 
elbows  to  make  their  fortunes;^'  negroes,  many  of  whom, 
did  not  know  the  first  letter  in  the  alphabet,  and  scallawags 
who  were  natives  to  the  soil  and  readily  became  participants 
in  "  gathering  up  the  wreck  "  as  their  nefarious  occupation 
was  appropriately  called.  The  government  managed  by  these 
classes,  it  may  be  imagined  greatly  aggravated  the  misfortunes 
of  the  people.  In  an  address  dated  October  8th,  1875,  upon 
the  decrease  of  pro})erty  values  during  five  years  of  their 
rule,  it  was  demonstrated  that  it  had  produced  widespread 
destruction,  that  the  cormorants  were  devouring  more  than 
the  toiling  people  could  make  by  the  utmost  industry  and 
economy.  The  progress  from  the  lower  deep  of  desolation  to 
still  lower  depths  was  going  on  with  frightful  speed.  Under 
the  organic  law  framed  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  such 
abuses,  the  Legislature,  constituted  mainly  of  the  same  material 
which  composed  the  Mongrel  Convention,  multiplied  offices 
for  the  benefit  of  drones,  originated  jobs,  and  voted  appropri- 
ations for  the  enrichment  of  rings.  The  halls,  lobbies  and 
committee  rooms  of  the  capitol  swarmed  with  harpies.  Igno- 
rance and  knavery,  inside  and  out,  contended  for  the  mastery 
over  intelligence  and  honesty.  The  stream  could  rise  no 
higher  than  its  source,  and  was  therefore  polluted  and  corrupt. 
The  Judiciary  was  partisan,  not  only  in  the  sense  that  it 


336  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

was  composed  of  members  of  one  political  organization  :  but 
with  rare  exceptions,  they  draggled  the  ermine  in  the  mire 
of  partisan  politics,  and  prostituted  to  party  ends  the 
influence  reflected  from  their  positions.  Judges  were  ap- 
pointed on  political  grounds  without  reference  to  qualification  ; 
and  the  selection  of  incompetents  was  of  frequent  occurrence. 
As  the  property  rights,  and  personal  security  of  every  indi- 
vidual in  a  comnuinity,  depend  on  the  wisdom,  integrity,  and 
stability  of  the  courts  of  justice,  a  learned  and  upright  judici- 
ary is  a  public  blessing  ;  but  the  sum  of  all  curses  is  a  judici- 
ary that  is  weak,  incompetent  and  corrupt. 

The  Executive  Department  lavished  large  sums  for  which 
no  account  was  rendered,  on  partisan  favorites  emjiloyed  in 
the  despicable  capacity  of  spies,  always  a  favorite  custom  of 
despots  who  wronged,  and  feared,  the  people.  This  depart- 
ment had  the  ready  co-operation  of  the  Legislature,  in  all 
those  infamous  schemes  of  the  reconstruction  era,  such  as  the 
Picked  Cavalry  and  the  Gatlin  gun  bills  for  terrorizing  the 
j)eople  ;  the  bill  to  carry  into  eifect  the  clause  of  the  consti- 
tution authorizing  the  transportation  of  persons  for  trial  to 
counties  remote  from  the  ])laces  where  their  offences  were  al- 
leged to  have  been  committed,  the  Pearl  Piver  Navigation 
swindle  and  kindred  measures.  It  was  a  custom  of  the  Gov- 
ernor in  derogation  of  the  honor  and  dignity  of  the  State, 
upon  pretexts  created  by  his  own  machinations  to  call  upon 
the  federal  government  for  troops  to  keep  the  peace,  to  enforce 
his  decrees  and  to  interfere  in  State  elections.  This  practice 
was  contrary  to  the  traditions  of  a  free  people,  and  has  ever 
been  especially  repugnant  to  t^e  people  of  this  country.  The 
colonists  before  they  separated  from  Great  Britain  indignantly 
remonstrated  when  troops  were  stationed  in  their  midst,  and 
notified  the  government  of  that  country  that  they  would  not 
deliberate  in  their  assemblies  while  troops  were  stationed  in  the 
vicinage.  The  English-speaking  people  have  ever  regarded 
a  standing  army  at  the  polls  as  the  deadly  enemy  of  freedom. 

An  act  of  Parliament  passed  in  1735,  directed  that  no  troops 
should  be  quartered  at  any  place  where  an  election  was  to  be 
held.  Gov.  Ames,  not  unmindful  of  the  repugnance  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States  to  the  continued  use  of  troops  in 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  MISSISSIPPI.  337 

the  States  of  the  Union,  with  shameless  effrontery  on  the  11th 
of  September,  1875,  repeated  the  call  which  he  had  made  on  the 
President  for  additional  military  force,  saying  :  ^- 1  am  aware 
of  the  reluctance  of  the  people  of  the  country  towards 
national  interference  in  State  elections,  (by  the  use  of  troops). 
.  .  .  Permit  me  to  hope  that  the  odium  of  such  inter- 
ference will  not  attach  to  the  President,  or  the  Republican 
party.  Let  the  odium  in  all  its  magnitude  descend  upon  me.'' 
He  said  it  was  an 

*^AN   ISSUE   OF   EACE," 

and  nothing  less  than  the  military  power  of  the  United 
States  could  settle  it."  This  ''  issue,"  it  will  be  borne  in 
mind,  was  an  inevitable  consequence  of  the  plan  of  ^^  recon- 
struction ''  w!:ich  had  been  devised  pretendedly  to  maintain 
^'  unimpaired,"  ^^the  dignity,  equality  and  rights  of  the  sev- 
eral States." 

Under  pretence  of  an  educational  system  wasteful  appro- 
priations were  made.  The  chief  ground  of  complaint  by  the 
impoverished  tax-payers  was  that  the  system  instead  of  being 
a  nursery  of  useful  knowledge,  honesty  and  correct  principle 
in  the  training  of  the  youths  of  the  State  the  way  they  should 
go,  became  in  fact  the  convenient  cover  for  all  kinds  of  plun- 
dering schemes,  jobs  in  school  books,  jobs  in  school  buildings, 
jobs  in  school  furniture,  jobs  in  everything.  School  warrants 
were  depreciated  to  afford  operators  the  opportunity  of 
speculating  and  amassing  fortunes.  The  highest  rate  of  com- 
pensation was  paid  for  the  lowest  standard  of  qualification. 
The  head  of  the  department  was  an  embezzler,  forger  and 
thief,  who  wound  up  his  career  by  fleeing  from  the  State  to 
avoid  the  penalty  of  his  crime.  Speaking  of  this  refugee 
naturally  reminds  me  of  the  Penitentiary. 

This  institution  had  been  self-sustaining  before  the  war. 
Its  well-trained  muscular  labor  ought  to  have  more  than 
indemnified  the  State  after  the  war,  but  it  became  a  heavy 
burden,  costing  on  an  average  during  the  six  years  of  carpet- 
bag misrule  the  large  sum  of  seventy-seven  thousand  dollars 
a  year. 

Its  financial  policy  was  a  model  of 

22 


338  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

PKOFLIGACY   AND    EXTRAVAGANCE. 

It  was  described  in  language  more  forcible  than  I  can 
command,  by  the  late  Henry  Musgrove,  Auditor  of  Public 
Accounts  during  the  first  four  years  of  misrule.  In  his 
report  of  January  1st,  1874,  he  said:  ^' For  the  past  three 
years,  and  the  present  one  now  before  you,  in  no  single 
instance  have  the  receipts  proper  reached  the  expenditures  of 
any  year ;  but  on  the  contrary,  the  latter  have  far  exceeded 
the  former,  and  hence  a  debt  of  considerable  magnitude  has 
increased  year  after  year." 

Governor  Ames,  in  his  message  of  January  4,  1874,  bore 
testimony  to  the  deplorable  financial  condition,  saying: 
"The  state  is  in  debt,  her  credit  is  impaired. ''  For  the 
increase  of  indebtedness  from  a  mere  song  to  several  millions, 
there  was  nothing  to  show  except  the  dejn-ession  of  all  kinds 
of  industry  and  an  alarming  diminution  of  the  property 
values  of  the  State.  Deplorable  is  the  fate  of  a  people  whose 
agents  habitually  make  larger  appropriations  from  their 
treasury  than  can  be  collected  by  the  most  grinding  system  of 
taxation.  It  eats  up  the  fruits  of  toil.  Destroys  values. 
Depresses  business.  Imposes  upon  them  the  most  exacting  of 
task-masters,  an  oppressive  public  debt.  Such  was  the  sys- 
tem declared  to  have  been  put  in  practice  during  the  "  recon- 
struction ^'  period.  The  anomaly  existed  of  an  increase  of 
the  public  debt  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  taxes.  The 
decrease  in  proj)erty  valuation  during  these  six  years  of  mal- 
administration amounted  to  forty  millions  of  dollars.  Six 
million  four  hundred  thousand  acres  comprising  twenty  per 
cent,  of  the  lands  in  the  State,  had  been  forfeited  for  non-pay- 
ment of  taxes.  After  they  were  confiscated  they  ceased  to  be 
taxable,  and  the  taxes  upon  those  which  remained  in  the  pos- 
session of  their  owners,  were  proportionately  raised. 

THE    tax-payers'    PRAYER. 

The  tax-payers  assembled  in  a  State  convention  to  consider 
their  wrongs;  and  on  the  4th  January,  1875,  addressed  an 
earnest  petition  to  the  Legislature  for  relief.  From  this 
petition  the  following  extract  is  made : 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  MISSISSIPPI.  339 

"  To  show  the  extraordinary  and  rapid  increase  of  taxation 
imposed  on  this  impoverished  people,  tliese  particulars  are 
cited  :  In  1869,  the  state  levy  was  ten  cents  on  the  hundred 
dollars  of  assessed  value  of  lands.  For  the  year  1871,  it 
was  four  times  as  great.  For  1872,  it  was  four  times  as 
great.  For  the  year  1873,  it  was  eight  and  a  half  times  as 
great.  For  the  year  1874,  it  was  fourteen  times  as  great. 
The  people  are  poorer  than  ever  before.  .  .  .  The  aggre- 
gate amount  of  taxes  levied  on  us,  in  our  poverty,  greatly 
exceeds  the  amount  levied  on  us  in  prosperous  days.  Thus 
as  the  people  become  poorer,  are  their  burdens  increased.  In 
many  counties,  the  increase  in  the  county  levies,  has  been  still 
greater.^'  Hon.  George  C.  ISIcKee,  then  and  now,  a  trusted 
Republican  leader,  wrote  :  "  I  would  beg  you  to  bear  in  mind 
that  there  is  no  fear  of  cutting  too  deep.  The  evil  is  enor- 
mous. The  petition  of  the  tax-payers  should  be  heeded." 
Hon.  George  E.  Harris,  Republican  Ex-Attorney  General, 
and  member  of  Congress,  in  an  open  letter  to  a  political  asso- 
ciate, said  :  "  The  people  are  in  a  stafe  of  exasperation,  and 
in  their  poverty  and  desperation  they  are  in  arms  against  the 
burden  of  taxes  levied  and  collected  on  their  property.  They 
have  made  a  respectful  appeal  to  the  Legislature  for  relief." 
But  the  respectful  appeal  of  the  tax-payers  was  treated  with 
contempt.  It  was  laughed  to  scorn  by  the  adventurers  and 
negroes  into  whose  keeping  "  reconstruction  "  had  been  com- 
mitted, the  affairs  of  the  state.  And  thus  the  condition  grew 
from  bad  to  worse.  The  curses  of  Pharaoh  had  come  again. 
They  were  not  frogs.  They  were  human  vultures  who 
gnawed  like  consuming  cancers  into  the  substance  of  the 
people. 

INFAMY   AND   DISGRACE   CONSTANTLY   INCEEASING. 

In  reading  the  foregoing  sketch  of  the  evils  produced  by 
"  reconstruction  '^  upon  the  plan  enforced  by  the  dominant 
party  of  the  Union,  the  public  will  discern  the  accuracy  of 
the  following  description  of  the  Southern  State  governments 
made  at  the  time  by  a  prominent  Northern  statesman,  Hon. 
Eugene  Hale,  a  United  States  Senator  from  Maine. 

"  The  infamy  and  disgrace  of  certain  Southern  State  gov- 


340  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

crnments  have  been  constantly  on  tlie  increase,  .  .  .  There 
have  been  bad  men  in  those  states  who  have  bought  power 
by  wholesale  bribery,  and  have  enriched  themselves  at  the 
expense  of  the  people  by  peculation,  or  open-handed  robbery. 
Corruption  and  anarchy  have  occupied  and  possessed  these 
unfortunate  States.'^ 

True  to  the  life.  If  corruption  was  sought  it  was  here. 
If  knavery,  it  was  here.  If  ignorance,  it  was  here.  If  "  an- 
archy," it  was  here.  The  wickedness  and  folly  of  forcing  the 
negro  into  collision  with  the  white  race  was  apparent.  The 
criminal  intent  to  install  the  former  as  the  ruler  of  the  latter 
was  so  gross  a  violation  of  nature's  laws,  that  it  forced  the 
whites  to  ignore  all  other  considerations  and  unite  as  one  man 
for  self-protection.  The  adventurers  were  reckless  and  de- 
praved. The  negroes  were  intoxicated  by  the  dizzy  height  to 
which  they  had  been  suddenly  raised.  The  attempt  of  sec- 
tional agitators  and  philonegrists  to  reverse  the  abnormal 
relation  of  the  two  races  produced  the  inevitable  consequence 
of  strife  and  bloody  conflict.  It  was  worse  than  folly  to 
suppose  that  the  negro  who  had  through  all  the  ages  shown 
his  utter  incapacity  for  self-government  could  be  elevated  from 
a  state  of  slavery  into  the  rulership  of  the  race  which  history 
teaches  had  sometimes  been  forced  to  succumb  to  superior 
numbers  of  its  own  kind,  but  had  never  bent  the  suppliant 
knee  to  an  inferior  race.  In  Mississippi,  the  vigilance,  forti- 
tude, courage,  and  natural  force  of  the  white  race  prevented  a 
repetition  of  the  histories  of  the  negro  countries  of  Hayti  and 
San  Domingo  where  the  comparatively  few  whites  residing  in 
the  islands  when  emancipation  was  proclaimed  were  either 
massacred  or  banished. 

RESCUED   FROM   MISRULE. 

It  has  been  seen  that  in  1869,  a  determined  effort  enabled 
the  white  people  to  defeat  the  scheme  for  their  permanent  dis- 
franchisement. In  1875,  by  a  similar  resolute  endeavor,  they 
succeeded  in  rescuing  the  State  from  the  misrule  which  I  have 
sketched. 

In  an  address  to  the  ensuing  Democratic  State  Convention, 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  MISSISSIPPL  341 

Hon.  J.  Z.  George,  Chairman  of  the  State  Executive  Com- 
mittee said  :  ''  For  the  past  six  years  our  struggle  has  been 
to  overthrow  misrule  and  to  secure  the  opportunity  of  self- 
government.  We  were  then  without  a  policy  beyond  the  de- 
termination that  economy  should  supersede  waste,  and  honesty 
and  competency  should  expel  vice  and  ignorance  from  official 
life.  The  particular  measures  by  which  a  people  can  be  made 
great  and  prosperous  did  not  engage  our  attention.  Now  it 
behooves  us  to  consider  what  measures  will  most  advance  us, 
and  see  that  they  are  adopted/^ 

AVhen  this  address  v/as  delivered  a  Democratic  Legislature 
had  already  been  elected.  Governor  Ames  had  resigned  and 
left  the  State.  A  Democrat  (Hon.  J.  M.  Stone)  by  virtue  of 
his  election  as  presiding  officer  of  the  State  Senate,  had  been 
installed  in  the  office  of  Governor,  and  measures  had  been 
taken  to  arrest  the  downward  course  of  the  State.  It  was  a 
saying  of  Edmund  Burke  that  in  England  from  the  earliest 
times  the  great  battles  for  freedom  had  been  fought  on  the 
question  of  taxation.  Here  in  Mississippi  it  had  been  fought 
on  the  questions  of  taxation  and  of  social  order.  The  first 
step  of  the  reformers  was  to  reduce  the  one  and  establish  the 
other.  They  hastened  to  lift  the  burden  of  superfluous  taxes 
from  the  shoulders  of  the  oppressed  people  ;  to  dismiss  super- 
numerary officials ;  to  improve  the  common  school  system  ;  to 
abolish  sinecures,  and  to  reduce  salaries.  State  taxes  were 
reduced  from  9J  mills  on  the  dollar  to  2J  mills.  The  taxing 
power  of  county  boards  of  supervisors  was  restricted.  It  had 
been  shamefully  abused.  In  the  counties  where  the  colored 
element  predominated,  taxes  had  ranged  anywhere  from  15 
to  50  mills  on  the  dollar.  To  prevent  this  abuse,  a  law  was 
passed  prohibiting  boards  of  supervisors  from  levying  taxes 
for  county  purposes  which  added  to  the  state  tax,  would  exceed 
12^  mills  on  the  dollar,  except  for  indispensable  purposes. 
The  State  was  placed  on  an  honest  financial  basis,  by  which 
her  depreciated  bonds  were  brought  to  par.  The  levee  system 
was  improved.  The  cumbrous  and  expensive  system  of  hold- 
ing elections  was  superseded  by  a  simpler  and  more  economi- 
cal one.  Of  the  6,400,000  acres  of  land  which  were  forfeited 
for  non-payment  of  the  excessive  taxes  imposed,  all  except 


342  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

250,000  have  been  redeemed.  Property  valuation  has  been 
largely  increased.  Outside  capital,  too  cautious  to  trust  itself 
to  a  state  administration  in  which  ignorance  and  corruption 
were  the  rule,  and  capacity  and  integrity  the  exception,  com- 
menced seeking  investment  in  all  kinds  of  industrial  enter- 
prises. In  1870,  there  were  in  round  numbers  but  800  miles 
of  railroad  in  the  State.  In  1889,  there  were  2,100  miles. 
In  the  public  school  system  the  improvement  has  been  marked. 
For  educational  purposes,  the  whites  pay  90  per  cent,  of  the 
taxes,  and  realize  in  the  schooling  of  their  own  race  about  40 
per  cent.  A  careful  investigation  of  the  educational  reforms 
in  Mississippi,  in  common  with  the  other  States  of  the  South, 
has  induced  a  Northern  educator,  Rev.  Dr.  A.  D.  Mayo, 
eminent  alike  for  his  learning  and  philanthropy,  to  declare 
that  ^'  no  other  people  in  human  history  has  made  an  effort  so 
remarkable  as  the  people  of  the  South,  in  re-establishing  their 
schools  and  colleges.  Overwhelmed  by  war  and  bad  govern- 
ment, they  have  done  wonders,'^  (he  continues,)  ^' and  with 
the  interest  and  zeal  now  felt  in  public  schools  in  the  South, 
the  hope  for  the  future  is  brighter  th^m  ever.''  He  added  : 
^^  Last  year  these  IG  states  paid  nearly  $1,000,000  each  for 
educational  purposes,  a  sum  greater  according  to  their  means, 
than  ten  times  the  amount  now  paid  by  most  of  the  New 
Eugland  States.'' 

This  statement  of  the  eminent  Massachusetts  educator  and 
philanthropist,  is  fully  verified  as  to  Mississippi,  by  the  report 
of  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Education  for  the  year 
1889,  wherein  it  is  shown  that  the  State  appropriated  $1,209,- 

343  for  school  purposes,  on  a  total  assessment  of  property 
amounting  to  §157,518,906,  and  that  the  number  of  children 
enrolled  in  her  public  schools  are  148,435  white  and  172,552 
colored. 

Mr.  Spooner,  of  AVisconsin,  a  distinguished  Republican 
leader,  in  a  speech  in  the  United  States  Senate,  delivered  as 
late  as  March  3,  1890,  fully  supports  the  glowing  report  of 
Dr.  Mayo.     He  says  : 

"  The  South,  since  1880,  not  only  has  grown  with  wonder- 
ful rapidity,  justifying  the  pride  with  which  her  people  de- 
clare to  the  world  their  material  resources,  but  she  has  grown 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  MISSISSIPPI.  343 

since  1880,  marvelously  in  the  matter  of  common  school  edu- 
cation/' 

Fortifying  his  statement  with  unanswerable  figures,  he 
adds  : 

*^  I  am  brought  to  the  proposition  that  the  Southern  people 
have  not  only  been  doing  well  since  1870  and  1880  in  the 
education  of  white  children,  but  they  have  been  doing  well 
in  the  education  of  colored  children." 

In  the  same  connection,  he  utters  the  indisputable  truth, 
that  "  the  burden  of  the  expense  is  mainly  defrayed  by  the 
white  people  of  the  South.'' 

Statistics  show  that  JVXississippi  has  kept  abreast  with  her 
sister  commonwealths  of  the  South. 

And  so  there  has  been  a  long  stride  in  the 

MARCH   OP  IMPROVEMENT, 

in  every  element  w^hich  makes  up  the  sum  of  public  prosper- 
ity. While  no  profane  attempt  has  been  made  to  annul  the 
distinctions  which  Infinite  Wisdom  has  established  between  the 
Caucasian  and  the  negro  races,  nor  to  bridge  over  the  chasm 
which  He  has  created,  by  devices  born  of  fanaticism,  the 
negroes,  under  white  rule,  have  been  afforded  'all  the  bless- 
ings of  just  and  impartial  laws.  Convinced  of  the  safety  of 
their  persons  and  property,  they  would  become  entirely  con- 
tented, if  their  fears  and  the  natural  antipathy  of  race,  v/ere 
not  aroused  by  sectional  agitators  and  fanatics. 

The  object  of  this  paper  is  to  fix  the  responsibility  of  ^^re- 
construction" and  its  disastrous  consequences,  where  they  be- 
lons:,  not  to  extol  the  intelliocent  and  honest  rule  of  the  white 
race.  An  estimate  of  what  the  State  suffered  by  the  alien  and 
negro  rule  resulting  from  the  plan  of  reconstruction  unwisely 
and  needlessly  enforced,  can  be  formed  by  contrasting  the 
losses  on  the  one  hand,  vv'ith  the  gains  on  the  other. 

WHAT   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN   TAUGHT. 

In  clothing  the  negro  with  the  weighty  responsibilities  of 
government  when  he  was  utterly  unfit  for  them,  the  authors 
of  the  measure  acted  not  only  in  defiance  of  all  the  lessons  of 


344  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

history,  but  of  the  teachings  of  the  statesman  whom  they 
professed  to  revere  above  all  otliers.  In  his  letter  of  March 
13th,  18(j4,  to  Michael  ITahn,  of  Louisiana,  President  Lin- 
coln wrote :  "You  are  about  to  have  a  convention,  which  will 
probably  define  the  elective  franchise.  I  have  a  suggestion 
for  your  private  consideration,  whether  some  of  the  colored 
people  may  not  be  let  in,  as,  for  instance,  the  very  intelligent, 
and  those  who  have  fought  gallantly  in  our  7'anks.  .  .  .  But 
this  is  only  a  suggestion,"  etc.,  etc. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  it  will  be  seen,  was  not  even  clear  in  the  opin- 
ion that  even  the  "very  intelligent  negro,"  and  the  negro  who 
had  fought  "gallantly"  for  his  freedom,  should  be  allowed  to 
vote.  He  could  not  have  tolerated  the  plan  of  admitting  to 
suffrage  the  entire  mass  of  ignorance  and  total  incompetency 
as  provided  in  the  plan  of  "  reconstruction."  This  is  in  accord 
with  the  well-matured  opinion  he  had  previously  declared  oa 
the  subject  of  negro  capacity  for  self-government.  In  1858, 
he  said:  "I  am  not,  and  have  never  been,  in  favor  of  bring- 
ing about,  in  any  form,  the  social  and  political  equality  of 
the  white  and  the- black  races.  There  is  a  physical  difference 
which  forbids  them  from  living  together  on  terms  of  social 
and  political  equality.  And  inasmuch  as  they  cannot  so  live, 
while  they  do  remain  together,  there  must  be  the  position  of 
superior  and  inferior,  and  I,  as  much  as  any  other  man,  am 
in  favor  of  having  the  superior  position  assigned  to  the  whitest' 

Thus  spoke  Abraham  Lincoln.  But  in  the  plan  of  "re- 
construction" forced  upon  the  Southern  States,  the  doctrine 
w4iich  he  declared  was  reversed,  so  far  as  it  applied  to  Missis- 
sippi and  other  Southern  States  in  which  there  was  a  majority 
of  the  "inferior"  race. 

Nor  could  the  illustrious  prophet  of  Republicanism  have 
tolerated  the  plan  of  turning  the  Southern  States  over  to 

CAEPET-B AGGERS   AND    FEDERAL   ARMY   OFFICERS, 

who,  taking  advantage  of  their  positions,  secured  their  elec- 
tion to  office,  as  in  the  case  of  General  Ames.  In  a  letter  to 
G.  F.  Shipley,  in  relation  to  the  Government  of  Louisiana, 
dated  November  21st,  1862,  Mr.  Lincoln  wrote  : — 


RECONSTKUCTION  IN  MISSISSIPPI.  345 

"Mr.  Kennedy  has  some  apprehensions  that  federal  officers, 
not  citizens  of  Louisiana,  may  run  as  candidates  for  Congress 
in  that  State.  In  my  view,  there  would  be  no  possible  object 
in  such  a  course.  .  .  .  What  we  want  is  conclusive  evi- 
dence that  respectable  citizens  of  Louisiana  are  willing  to 
serve  as  members  of  Congress,  and  to  swear  to  support  the 
Constitution,  and  that  other  respectable  citizens  are  willing  to 
vote  for  them.  To  send  a  jxircel  of  Northern  men  here  as 
Representatives,  elected,  as  it  icould  be  understood,  and  perhaps 
reatly  so,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  ivould  be  disgraceful  and 
outrageousj^ 

Directly  opposed  to  these  common-sense  ideas  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  the  policy  of  '^  reconstruction  ^^  devised  and  en- 
forced after  his  death.  It  was  even  worse.  It  was  a  combi- 
nation of  the  two  objectionable  elements  which  he  described — 
the  negro  and  the  carpet-bagger.  We  have  seen  that,  under 
the  government  of  Mississippi  succeeding  the  provisional  ad- 
ministration of  Governor  Sharkey,  '^respectable  citizens" 
were  elected  to  Congress,  ''  willing  to  serve,  and  to  swear  to 
support  the  Constitution,"  by  ''other  respectable  citizens," 
and  were  not  admitted.  Under  the  mongrel  system  eventu- 
ally adopted,  "  federal  officers,  not  citizens,"  and  "a  parcel  of 
Northern  men,"  who  had  come  as  adventurers,  were  elected 
by  the  negro  majority  and  admitted  as  Representatives  and 
Senators.  With  language  aptly  applied.  President  Lincoln 
characterized  such  proceedings  as  "disgraceful  and  outrage- 
ous." Such  men  were  not  only  sent  to  represent  Mississippi 
in  the  national  councils,  but  they  were  deputed  to  unite  with 
the  negroes  to  seize  the  State  government,  and  to  have  and 
to  hold  it  for  all  time.  No  wonder  Rev.  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  anti-slavery  party,  refer- 
ring to  the  overthrow  of  a  similar  conspiracy  in  another 
Southern  State,  indignantly  proclaimed  that  it  "was  sheer 
madness  to  place  the  government  of  the  State  in  the  hands 
of  ignorant  negroes  and  vile  carpet-baggers."  Said  ]\Ir. 
Beecher,  "There  never  was  such  a  system  of  taxation  and 
general  government.  .  .  .  Just  consider  the  state  of  things  ! 
The  South  has  sunk  ail  its  property  in  a  war  that  had  been 
bravely  fought.    Its  young  men  were  decimated,  but  they  set 


346  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

themselves  honestly  and  sublimely  to  work.  They  endured 
nobly.  The  class  that  was  sufferint^  all  these  ills  found  itself 
suddenly  s^overned  by  a  majority  that  a  little  while  ago  were 
slaves.  There  never  was  such  a  subversion  in  the  history  of 
the  white  people.     It  was  monstrous  !  '^ 

THE   LESSONS   OF   HISTORY. 

In  assigning  to  the  negro  a  part  which  he  was  wholly  un- 
prepared to  perform,  and  which  he  could  not  undertake  with- 
out bringing  calamity  upon  himself,  as  well  as  the  whites,  the 
parties  to  the  plot  acted  not  only  in  defiance  of  the  admoni- 
tion of  their  idolized  statesman,  but  of  the  warnings  of  history 
with  its  ^^  philososophy  teaching  by  examj)le.''  The  learned 
English  historian,  Allison,  in  describing  the  experiments  of 
negro  rule  in  the  West  Indies,  says,  it  has  demonstrated  that 
the  negro  ^^  does  not  possess  the  qualities  requisite  to  erect  a 
fabric  of  civilized  freedom."  Mackenzie,  in  his  work  on  St. 
Domingo,  says,  that  '^  it  is  impossible  to  arrive  at  any  other 
conclusion  but  that  in  the  qualities  requisite  to  create  and  ])er- 
petuate  civilization,  the  African  is  decidedly  inferior  to  the 
European  race,  and  if  any  doubt  could  exist  on  this  subject, 
it  would  be  removed  by  the  subsequent  history,  and  present 
state  of  the  Haytien  government.'^  Sir  Spencer  St.  John, 
formerly  English  minister  resident  at  Hayti,  in  giving  the 
result  of  his  observations  after  personally  knowing  the 
Haytien  Republic  for  twenty-fiv^e  years,  says : 

"  I  know  what  the  black  man  is,  and  I  have  no  hesitation 
in  declaring  that  he  is  incapable  of  the  art  of  government,  and 
that  to  entrust  him  with  framing  and  working  the  laws  for 
our  (the  English)  islands  (West  Indies)  is  to  condemn  those 
islands  to  inevitable  ruin.  What  the  negro  may  become  after 
centuries  of  civilized  education,  I  cannot  tell,  but  what  I  know 
is,  he  is  not  fit  to  govern  now.''  "In  spite,"  he  says  "of  all 
civilizing  elements  around  the  ITaytiens,  there  is  a  distinct 
tendency  to  sink  into  the  state  of  an  African  tribe."  After 
ninety  years  of  trial,  the  negro  government  of  Hayti  is  a 
mockery  in  which  every  form  of  tyranny  and  vice  is  blended, 
instead   of    progressing   towards   a    higher   civilization   the 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  MISSISSIPPI.  347 

negroes,  he  says,  *^are  in  a  state  of  rajMcl  decadence/' 
He  quotes  from  another  eminent  historian  of  close  observa- 
tion,CJames  Anthony  Fronde, :  the  declaration,  that  in  the 
negro  Republic  of  Hayti,  *' there  lies  active  and  alive,  the 
horrible  revival  of  the  West  African  superstition,  the  serpent 
worship,  the  child  sacrifice,  and  the  cannibalism.''  In  his 
work,  "  The  English  in  the  West  Indies,"  written  after  he 
had  visited  the  Islands  and  investigated  carefully,  in  order  to 
form  correct  conclusions  as  to  negro  capacity  for  self-govern- 
ment, he  endorses  the  opinion  of  Sir  Spencer  St.  John,  and 
says : 

'^  If  for  the  sake  of  theory  and  to  shirk  responsibility  these 
(negro)  islands  are  left  to  govern  themselves,  the  state  of 
Hayti  stands  as  a  ghastly  example  of  the  condition  in  which 
they  will  inevitably  fall.  If  we  (the  English)  persist,  we  shall 
be  sinning  against  light — the  clearest  light  that  was  ever  given 
in  such  aifalrs."     He  adds : 

*'  One  does  not  grudge  the  black  man  his  property,  nis 
freedom,  his  opportunity  of  advancing  himself;  one  would 
wish  him  as  free  and  prosperous  as  the  fates,  and  his  own  ex- 
ertions can  make  him,  with  more  and  more  means  of  raising 
himself  to  the  white  man's  level.  But  left  to  himself  and 
without  the  white  man  to  lead  him,  he  can  never  reach  it.  .  .  . 
We  have  a  population  to  deal  with,  the  majority  of  whom  are 
an  inferior  race.  Inferior,  I  am  obliged  to  call  them, 
because  as  yet  they  have  shown  no  capacity  to  rise  above  the 
condition  of  their  ancestors,  except  under  European  laws, 
European  education,  and  European  authority  to  keep  them 
from  war  upon  one  another.  .  .  .  Give  them  independence, 
and  in  a  few  generations  they  will  peel  oif  such  civilization 
as  they  have  as  easily  and  as  willingly  as  their  coats  and 
trousers." 

CONCLUDIK'G   OBSERVATIONS. 

•  It  was  to  this  same  inferior  race  comprising  a  large  majority 
of  the  whole  people  that  the  authors  of  the  ''  reconstruction" 
policy,  wickedly  but,  under  an  over-ruling  Providence,  vainly 
endeavored  to  commit  the  destinies  of  Mississippi.  It  Is  rea- 
sonable to  infer  that  upon  the  ordinary  questions  of  govern- 


348  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

mental  policy  the  white  people  of  the  state  would  have 
differed  and  ranged  themselves  under  the  opposing  poHtical 
banners,  but  when  the  "  race  issue/'  with  its  consequences  of  life 
and  death  to  their  liberty  and  civilization,  was  needlessly  and 
cruelly  thrust  upon  them,  they  were  forced  into  a  solid,  com- 
pact organization  in  obedience  to  the  higher  law  of  self-preser- 
vation which  God  in  His  wisdom  has  instituted ;  and  this 
organization  they  will  maintain  so  long  as  the  cause  which 
made  it  inevitable,  remains. 

Candor  requires  that  this  should  be  said.  A  part  of  the 
"  reconstruction  "  plan  has  expended  its  force.  Other  parts 
having  been  engrafted  upon  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  have  remained  to  plague  not  the  inventor  only,  but 
both  the  white  and  the  negro  races  in  the  South.  The  blunder 
must  now  be  clear  to  the  authors  themselves.  It  is  not  the 
purpose  of  the  writer  to  ask  them  to  retrace  their  steps  and 
undo  their  folly,  but  may  we  not  hope  that  under  the  influence 
of  the  sober,  second  thought,  they  will  permit  us  to  control 
our  domestic  affairs  as  nominated  in  the  bond  of  union  as  it 
now  stands,  according  to  our  own  judgment,  and  to  take  care 
of  ourselves  as  best  we  may. 

Etiielbert  Barksdale. 

Jackson,  Mississippi,  Marcli  10th,  1890. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

RECONSTRUCTION  IN  TEXAS. 

WHAT  is  known  as  the  ordinance  of  secession,  by  which 
Texas  was  separated  from  the  United  States,  was  ])assed 
in  a  convention  composed  of  delegates  elected  by  the 
people  of  Texas,  on  the  1st  day  of  February,  A.  D.  1861,  and 
soon  thereafter  Texas  became  one  of  the  Confederate  states. 
In  the  war  that  followed  between  the  states,  it  is  no  more  than 
just  to  say  that  Texas  discharged  her  full  duty  to  her  sister 
states  of  the  South  ;  but  when  the  war  closed,  aside  from  the 
loss  of  property  in  slaves,  the  wealth  of  the  state  had  not 
been  so  much  impaired  as  it  had  been  in  the  other  Southern 
states.  She  had  not  suffered  devastation  from  invading  troops, 
and  those  of  her  citizens  who  were  not  in  the  army,  had  pur- 
sued their  avocations  without  disturbance.  The  earth  had 
brought  forth  abundantly,  so  much  so,  as  not  only  to  supply 
the  demand  for  home  consumption,  but  to  furnish  large  sun- 
plies  for  those  who  were  in  the  field,  \yhen  hostilities  ceased, 
large  quantities  of  cotton  remained  unsold  in  the  hands  of  the 
planters,  and  at  that  time  commanded  an  unprecedented  high 
price.  Farming  acreage  had  been  largely  increased  by  those,  who 
with  their  slaves,  had  fled  from  the  ravages  of  the  war  in 
other  states,  and  had  found  refuge  in  Texas.  The  great  live 
stock  interests  in  the  state  had  prospered,  and  horses  and 
cattle  were  easily  converted  into  cash,  at  remunerative  prices. 
In  comparison  with  the  other  states  of  the  South,  Texas  was 
in  a  prosperous  condition,  and  soon  attracted  the  attention  of 
those  adventurers  who  everywhere  became  known  as  '^ carpet- 
baggers.''  To  them  Texas  was  indeed  "a  land  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey.'^  They  sent  no  one  out  to  spy  out  the  land, 
but  came  themselves.     Their  name  was  legion.     Their  pur- 

349 


350  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

pose  was  to  despoil  and  plunder.  The  military  government 
which  dominated  the  people  during  tJie  greater  part  of  the  re- 
construction period,  furnished  them  every  opportunity  to  carry- 
out  their  thievish  purposes.  During  that  period  the  offices  of 
the  state,  from  the  judge  on  the  bench  to  the  constable  of  a 
beat,  were  largely  composed  of  this  class  of  men,  and  it  is  but 
the  plain  truth  to  say,  that  no  more  ignorant,  incompetent, 
vicious  and  corrupt  men  have  ever  been  permitted  by  any 
government,  to  hold  official  position.  To  their  unparalleled 
meanness  may  be  attributed  much  of  the  wrong  and  oppres- 
sion that  was  inflicted  upon  the  people  of  this  state.  tJnder 
Confederate  authority  Texas  was  a  part  of  what  was  known 
as  the  "  Trans-Mississippi  Department,''  and  at  the  termina- 
tion of  actual  hostilities  it  was  under  the  command  of  Lieut. 
Gen.  E.  Kirby  Smith,  who  through  Generals  Buckner  and 
Price,  surrendered  the  Department  to  General  Canby,  of  the 
United  States  army,  at  New  Orleans,  on  the  27th  day  of  May, 
1865.  On  the  17th  day  of  June,  A.  D.  1865,  Andrew  John- 
son, President  of  the  United  States,  issued  his  proclamation 
appointing  Andrew  J.  Hamilton  provisional  Governor  of 
Texas,  whose  duty  it  was  stated  in  the  proclamation  to  be  "to 
prescribe  such  rules  and  regulations  as  may  be  necessary  and 
proper  for  convening  a  convention  composed  of  delegates  to 
be  chosen  by  that  portion  of  the  people  of  said  state  who  are 
loyal  to  the  United  States,  and  no  other;  for  the  purpose  of 
altering  or  amending  the*  Constitution  thereof;  and  with  au- 
thority to  exercise  ^vithin  the  limits  of  said  state  all  the  pow- 
ers necessary  and  proper  to  enable  the  loyal  people  of  the 
state  of  Texas  to  restore  said  state  to  its  constitutional  rela- 
tions to  the  Federal  Government,  and  to  present  such  a  Re- 
publican form  of  state  government  as  will  entitle  the  state  to 
the  guaranty  of  the  United  States  therefor,  and  its  people  to 
the  protection  of  the  United  States  against  invasion,  insurrec- 
tion and  domestic  violence." 

Governor  Hamilton  was  a  native  of  Alabama,  but  had 
been  a  citizen  of  Texas  for  many  years.  He  was  in  many 
respects  a  remarkable  man,  and  had  been  more  than  once 
elected  to  high  official  position  by  the  people  of  Texas,  and 
at  the  time  of  secession  he  was  a  Representative  from  Texas 


KECONSTEUCTION  IN  TEXAS.  351 

in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  Hamilton  was  a  man 
of  generous  impulses,  and  of  extraordinary  intellectual  power, 
but  was  erratic  and  unstable  in  his  opinions.  At  one  time  he 
was  greatly  admired  by  the  people  of  Texas,  and  for  years 
before  the  war  they  delighted  in  calling  him  ^^  Colossal 
Jack,'^  which  was  but  an  a|)propriate  indication  of  his  intel- 
lect and  great  oratorical  ability.  He  had  opposed  secession, 
and  shortly  after  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  had  placed 
himself  within  the  lines  of  the  Union  forces,  where  he  re- 
mained until  the  war  was  over,  but  at  no  time  did  he  take 
up  arms  against  the  South.  Some  complaint  was  made 
because  of  his  delay  in  calling  a  convention  to  form  a  Con- 
stitution. But  after  having  re-organized  the  state  by 
appointing  all  county,  district  and  state  officers  except  Judges 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  he,  on  the  17th  day  of  November, 
A.D.  1865,  issued  his  proclamation  for  the  election  of  dele- 
gates to  a  convention,  which  assembled  on  the  7th  day  of 
February,  1866,  and  framed  a  Constitution  that  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  voters  of  the  state,  ratified,  and  the  officers  of 
the  state  therein  provided  for,  elected  on  the  25th  day  of 
June,  A.D.  1866. 

Notwithstanding,  many  of  the  citizens  of  the  state  were 
then  under  political  disabilities  and  could  not  vote,  the  Dem- 
ocratic candidate  for  Governor,  Hon.  James  W.  Throckmor- 
ton, received  49,277  votes,  and  his  opponent,  Hon.  E.  M. 
Pease,  a  Republican,  received  only  12,168  votes.  Governor 
Throckmorton  had  lived  in  Texas  from  his  boyhood,  and  had 
served  his  state  for  many  years  in  the  capacity  of  a  legislator, 
and  was  distinguished  for  his  ability,  patriotism,  purity  of 
character  and  unflinching  courage.  Pie  was  opposed  to  the 
secession  of  the  Southern  states  from  the  Federal  Union,  and 
had  exerted  his  influence  to  prevent  it,  and  as  a  delegate  in 
the  secession  convention  in  1861,  voted  against  the  passage  of 
the  ordinance  which  declared  the  separation  of  Texas  from 
the  Union.  But  while  he  looked  upon  secession  as  impolitic 
and  ruinous,  he  looked  with  scarcely  less  dread  upon  that 
doctrine  which  asserted  an  undefined  and  unlimited  power 
in  the  general  government  to  use  its  military  force  against 
the  states,  and    he   followed  the  fortunes  of  a  majority  'of 


352  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

his  fellow-citizens,  and  shared   with  them    the  fate  of  the 
conflict. 

He  was  inaugurated  and  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  his 
duties  as  Governor,  on  the  9th  day  of  August,  1866,  and  no 
man  in  that  high  position  was  ever  surrounded  by  more  em- 
barrassing circumstances,  or  confronted  with  greater  difficul- 
ties. He  had  a  full  appreciation  of  his  situation,  and  clearly 
perceived  the  obstacles  that  he  had  to  overcome,  as  is  mani- 
fest from  the  following  passage  in  his  inaugural  address, 
viz.  : 

"At  a  time  like  the  present,  when  we  have  just  emerged 
"from  the  most  terrible  conflict  known  to  modern  times,  with 
"homes  made  dreary  and  desolate  by  the  heavy  hand  of  war; 
"the  people  impoverished  under  public  and  private  debts; 
"the  great  industrial  energies  of  the  country  sadly  depressed  ; 
"occuiiyino;,  in  some  respects,  the  position  of  a  state  of  the 
"  Federal  Union,  and  in  others,  the  condition  of  a  conquered 
"province,  exercising  only  such  privileges  as  the  conqueror  in 
"his  wisdom  may  allow;  the  loyalty  of  the  people  to  the 
"general  Government  doubted;  their  integrity  questioned; 
"their  honest  aspirations  for  peace  and  restoration  disbelieved, 
"maligned  and  traduced,  with  a  constant  misapprehension  of 
"their  most  innocent  actions  and  intentions;  with  a  frontier, 
"many  hundreds  of  miles  in  extent,  being  desolated  by  a 
"  murderous  and  powerful  enemy  ;  our  devoted  frontiersmen 
"  filling  bloody  graves,  their  property  given  to  the  flames  or 
"carried  off  as  booty,  their  little  ones  murdered,  and  their 
"wives  and  daughters  carried  into  captivity  more  terrible 
"than  death,  and  reserved  for  tortures  such  as  savage  cruelty 
"and  lust  can  alone  invent;  nnprotected  by  the  Government* 
"we  support;  with  troops  quartered  in  the  interior  where 
"there  is  peace  and  quiet;  unwilling  to  send  citizens  to  de- 
"fend  the  suffering  border  for  fear  of  arousing  unjust  suspi- 
"cions  as  to  the  motive ;  with  a  heavy  debt  created  before  the 
"late  war,  and  an  empty  treasury;  with  an  absolute  necessity 
"for  a  change  in  the  laws  to  adapt  ourselves  to  the  new  order 
"of  things,  and  embarrassments  in  every  part  of  our  internal 
"affairs;  under  such  circumstances,  with  such  surroundings, 
"when   so   much  depends   upon  prudence  and  so  great  an 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  TEXAS.  353 

"amount  of  patriotism  and  intelligence  is  required,  I  feel 
"sadly  oppressed  with  the  duties  which  lie  before  me.'^ 

But,  notwithstanding  the  almost  insuperable  difficulties  that 
stood  in  his  way,  the  Governor,  assisted  by  the  Legislature, 
went  bravely  to  work  to  bring  order  out  of  chaos,  and  to 
restore  proper  relations  between  the  state  and  Federal  Govern- 
ment. The  convention  that  had  framed  the  Constitution,  and 
which  was  composed  of  men  of  all  political  parties,  had  done 
everything  required  of  it  to  facilitate  the  restoration  of  such 
relations.  The  abolition  of  slavery  was  recognized ;  the  debt 
created  by  the  war  was  repudiated ;  the  ordinance  of  secession 
was  declared  null  and  void,  the  right  of  Texas  to  secede  from 
the  Union  renounced,  and  the  permanency  of  the  Union  and 
supremacy  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  declared.  Pro- 
vision was  made  for  the  future  education  of  the  ne2:roes ;  for 
the  equal  preservation  of  their  liv^es,  liberty  and  property,  and 
for  the  bestowal  of  other  rights  and  privileges  upon  them  ; 
and  the  right  to  vote  would  have  been  extended  to  them  had 
it  then  been  required  by  the  general  Government ;  for  our 
people  felt  that  they  had  submitted  these  matters  to  the 
arbitrament  of  the  sword  ;  that  it  had  been  decided  ao^ainst 
them,  and  as  brave  men  it  was  their  duty  to  submit. 

The  Governor  recommended  the  enactment  of  such  laws  as 
would  in  good  faith  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  Constitu- 
tion and  ordinances  of  the  Convention,  and  the  Legislature 
promptly  complied  with  his  suggestions.  So  desirous  was 
Governor  Throckmorton  that  everything  should  be  done  by 
the  Legislature  to  bring  about  proper  relations  between  the 
state  of  Texas  and  the  General  Government,  that  on  the  29th 
day  of  October,  a.d.  1866,  he  addressed  a  telegram  to  Presi- 
dent Johnson,  and  made  inquiry  if  he  could  offer  any  sucrges- 
tion  for  further  action  on  the  part  of  the  Legislature  of  Texas 
that  would  facilitate  restoration ;  to  which  the  President  re- 
plied as  follows : 

Washington,  D.  C,  October  30th,  1866. 
Governor  THROcK:vroRTON : 

Your  telegram  of  the  29th  inst.  received.  I  have  notliing  to  sug- 
gest, further  than  urg'ng  upon  the  Legislature  to  make  all  laws  involving 
civil  rights  as  complete  as  possible,  so  as  to  extend  equal  and  exact  justice 
to  all  persons,  -svithout  regard  to  color,  if  it  has  not  been  done..     "We  should 

23 


354  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

not  despair  of  the  Eepublic.  My  faith  is  strong,  my  confidence  unlimited 
in  the  wisdom,  providence,  virtue,  intelli,2;cnce  and  magnanimity  of  the 
great  mass  of  tlie  people,  and  that  their  ultimate  decision  will  be  uninflu- 
enced by  passion  and  j)rejudice,  engendered  by  the  recent  civil  war ;  ibr 
the  complete  restoration  of  tlie  Union  by  the  admission  of  loyal  J^enators 
and  Representatives  from  all  the  states  to  the  respective  Houses  of  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States.  Signed, 

Andrew  Johnson. 

In  his  efforts  to  restore  proper  relations  with  the  General 
Government,  Governor  Throckmorton  was  not  without  hope 
that  he  would  be  sustained  by  the  sentiment  of  the  Northern 
people,  as  was  indicated  in  his  message  to  the  Legislature, 
wherein  he  said  : 

"  Notwithstanding  tlie  difficulties  which  beset  us,  and  the 
untoward  direction  given  to  measures  proposed  for  the<=ett]e- 
ment  of  grave  questions  growing  out  of  the  late  nnliajipy 
contest  between  the  Government  and  the  Southern  States  ; 
and  notwithstanding  the  measures  so  proposed  have  received 
the  sanction  of  the  National  Legislature,  yet,  my  fellow-citi- 
zens, with  proper  conduct  on  our  part,  I  do  not  despair  of  re- 
ceiving liberal  and  generous  treatment  from  our  Northern 
countrymen. '^ 

He  never  doubted,  and  never  had  cause  to  doubt,  that 
his  own  people  were  desirous  of  performing  all  their  obligations 
to  the  General  Government,  and  this  he  declared  in  his  in- 
augural address  in  the  following  emphatic  language  : 

'^  Having  been  a  resident  of  Texas  for  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury ;  familiarly  acquainted  with  all  her  prominent  citizens ; 
having  served  in  the  councils  of  the  state  for  fifteen  years,  and 
shared  the  dangers  and  toils  of  the  late  war  with  her  soldiers  ; 
recently  mingled  much  with  the  people  and  corresponded  with 
them  in  every  section  of  the  state  within  the  past  few  months, 
I  claim  to  know  something  of  the  actual  condition  of  affairs, 
and  I  do  not  hesitate  to  declare  that  the  great  body  of  the 
people  are  earnestly  desirous  of  performing  all  their  obliga- 
tions to  the  General  Government.  A  people  who  have  won 
the.  respect  and  admiration  of  the  world  for  their  chivalry, 
high  daring  and  fortitude  will  not  be  doubted  by  generous  and 
brave  spirits  when  they  assert  their  loyalty." 

It  was,  indeed,  true  that  the  people,  after  the  exhaustion 


EECOXSTRUCTION  IN  TEXAS.  355 

caused  by  four  years  of  war,  were  in*  favor  of  a  restoration 
of  law  and  order  that  would  give  security  to  life  and  prop- 
•erty.  They  were  anxious  to  begin  the  work  of  rebuilding 
their  shattered  and  ruined  fortunes,  and  realized  that  a  con- 
tinuance of  a  condition  of  hostility  to  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment would  be  fatal  to  their  hopes  and  plans.  But  events, 
which  rapidly  followed  the  utterance  by  Governor  Throck- 
morton of  these  words  of  cheer  and  hope,  painfully  demon- 
strated that  the  people  of  the  North  were  not  ready  to  resume 
fraternal  relations  with  the  people  of  the  South.  Perhaps 
there  had  not  been  sufficient  '*  cooling  time."  In  spite  of 
State  Constitutions,  and  legislative  enactments  evincing  the 
honest  desire  of  the  people  of  the  Southern  States  to  accept 
in  good  faith  the  results  of  the  war,  and  to  resume  their  rela- 
tions with  the  General  Government,  the  people  of  the  North- 
ern States  doubted  their  loyalty  to  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  and  were  especially  apprehensive  that  fair 
treatment  would  not  be  given  to  the  negro.  They  regarded 
crime  in  the  South  not  as  an  excrescence  of  society,  but  as  the 
indirect  act  of  Southern  society  itself,  and  deemed  it  right  to 
assume  tutelage  over  the  people  of  the  South. 

The  breach  that  occurred  between  President  Johnson  and  his 
party,  which  culminated  in  the  attempt  made  to  impeach  him, 
only  intensified  the  bitterness  of  feeling  at  the  North  against 
the  people  of  the  South,  but  in  less  than  nine  months  after 
the  formation  of  a  State  Government  in  Texas  resulted  in  the 
passage  of  the  reconstruction  laws,  and  subverted  civil  gov- 
ernment, not  only  in  Texas,  but  in  all  the  Southern  States, 
and  in  lieu  thereof  erected  a  military  despotism. 

But  before  the  enactment  of  the  reconstruction  laws,  Texas 
was  in  the  condition  described  by  her  Governor  as  "occupy- 
ing, in  some  respects,  the  position  of  a  state  of  the  Federal 
Union,  and  in  others,  the  condition  of  a  conquered  province"; 
and  this  anomalous  condition  of  things  was  a  prolific  source 
of  trouble  and  embarrassment  in  the  administration  of  state 
affairs.  As  has  been  shown,  a  government  for  the  state, 
essentially  republican  in  its  nature,  and  the  Constitution  of 
which  had  provided  for  the  changes  brought  about  by  the 
war,  had  been  organized  in  due  form,  but  the  Government  of 


356  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTfl  ? 

•  . 
the  United  States,  under  the  pretence  of  collecting  property 
that  had  belonged  to  the  Confederate  States,  kept  within  the 
State  a  body  of  soldiers,  who  were  stationed  at  diiferent 
points,  and  some  of  whom,  in  small  and  separate  detachments, 
were  kept  moving  from  one  place  to  another. 

The  "Freedmen's  Bureau"  had  its  officers  and  agents 
everywhere  throughout  the  state,  and  in  many,  if  not  most 
instances,  they  had  a  military  force  subject  to  their  orders. 
These  officers  and  agents  of  the  '' Freedmen's  Bureau '^  were, 
for  the  most  part,  a  set  of  unmitigated  rascals.  Sent  to  pro- 
tect the  negro  against  the  cruelty  and  rapacity  of  his  em- 
ployer, they  managed  to  pluck  from  him  his  hard-earned 
dollars,  and  not  unfrequently  they  were  in  the  pay  of  the 
employer,  who,  from  necessity,  submitted  to  be  blackmailed, 
rather  than  be  subjected  to  constant  and  unnecessary  annoy- 
ance. The  presence  of  the  sokliers  for  the  enforcement  of 
law  in  a  time  of  profound  peace,  is  revolting  to  an  American, 
and  at  this  unhappy  period  the  conduct  of  the  sohliers  was 
very  often  of  such  character  as  to  exasperate  the  citizens. 
Where  officers  were  in  command  who  were  possessed  of  a 
proper  sense  of  self-respect,  and  knew  how  to  perform  their 
duties,  but  little,  if  any,  trouble  occurred.  But,  unfor- 
tunately, such  men  were  not  always  in  command,  and  too  fre- 
quently men  were  in  authority  who  sought  to  display  tlieir 
love  of  country  and  heroism  by  oppressing  the  helpless. 
Such  conduct  not  unfrequently  produced  trouble.  Many  of 
our  citizens  suffered  in  person  and  in  property  at  the  hands 
of  licentious  and  irresponsible  men  who  wore  the  uniform 
and  marched  under  the  flag  of  the  United  States.  One  of 
the  most  flagrant  acts  of  this  character  was  the  burning  of 
the  town  of  Brenham,  on  the  night  of  the  7th  of  September, 
A.  D.  1866.  It  excited  great  indignation  throughout  the 
state.  The  Legislature  was  in  session  at  the  time,  and  the 
Governor  very  properly  and  prudently  called  their  attention 
to  the  matter. 

In  compliance  with  the  recommendation  of  the  Governor, 
the  Legislature  sent  a  committee  to  Brenham  fully  authorized 
to  obtain  the  facts,  and  from  the  report  made  by  said  com- 
mittee we  learn  that  on  the  night  of  the  7th  of  September, 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  TEXAS.  357 

1866,  a  party  of  United  States  soldiers  took  possession  of  a 
negro  ball  that  was  in  progress  in  the  honse  of  a  colored  man 
in  the  town  of  Brenham.  The  conduct  of  the  soldiers 
became  so  indecent  as  to  cause  the  negroes  to  abandon  tlieir 
festivities  and  seek  their  homes.  Infuriated  because  the  ball 
had  ceased,  they  sought  to  inflict  vengeance  upon  some  of  the 
negro  men  who  had  helped  to  close  it.  They  pursued  one  of 
them  to  a  house  where  were  assembled  a  number  of  white 
ladies  and  gentlemen  and  within  their  hearing,  in  the  most 
profane  and  obscene  language,  abused  the  negro.  Upon 
being  informed  by  one  of  the  gentleman  that  ladies  were 
present,  and  requested  not  to  use  improper  language,  they 
drew  their  pistols  and  transferred  their  abuse  from  the  negro 
to  the  white  men,  and  cursed  them  as  d — n  rebels,  and 
threatened  to  shoot  them,  when  two  of  the  soldiers  were  shot, 
one  being  seriously  and  the  other  slightly  wounded.  The 
soldiers  then  retired  to  their  camp,  taking  their  wounded 
companion  with  them,  but  during  the  night  they  returned  and 
fired  the  town.  It  was  indisputably  proved  that  the  sokliers 
set  fire  to  the  town.  The  evidence  showed  that  the  soldiers 
who  committed  this  outrage  acted  Imder  the  orders  of  their 
commanding  officer,  or  that  he  connived  at  their  conduct. 
When  an  officer  of  the  state  went  to  their  camp  with  the 
authority  of  the  law,  to  arrest  some  of  the  guilty  parties,  he 
was  informed  by  the  officer  in  command  that  the  soldiers  he 
wanted  had  the  night  before  deserted.  They  certainly  had 
been  spirited  away  and  have  never  been  tried  for  their  crime. 
Quite  a  number  of  houses  were  consumed,  and  property  to 
the  value  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-one  thousand  dollars 
was  destroyed.  The  loss  was  sustained  and  divided  among 
about  twenty-five  persons,  all  of  whom  were  of  moderate 
means  and  not  able  to  sustain  it.  The  United  States  has 
never  paid  one  dollar  of  this  loss.  The  burning  of  Brenham 
was  exceptional  only  in  the  amount  of  property  that  was  de- 
stroyed ;  certainly  not  in  perfidy  and  wickedness.  Numbers 
of  our  citizens  were  murdered  by  the  soldiers  of  the  United 
States,  and,  in  some  instances,  were  deliberately  shot  down  by 
them  in  the  presence  of  their  wives  and  children.  In  this 
diabolical  manner  were  W.  A.  Burns  and  his  sou  Dallas  mur- 


358  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

dered  in  Gaudaloupe  County.  From  the  testimony  taken 
before  the  coroner  at  an  inquest  held  upon  the  bodies  of  the 
deceased,  we  copy  the  evidence  of  Miss  Sarah  L.  Burns,  the 
daui^hter  of  W.  A.  Burns,  and  the  sister  of  Dallas  Burns, 
who  was  a  witness  to  the  horrid  deed,  and  whose  testimony 
was  abundantly  corroborated  by  other  evidence.  After  being 
duly  sworn,  she  testified  as  follows  : 

Q.  State  what  you  know  about  the  killing  ot  your  father, 
W.  A.  Burns,  and  your  brother,  Dallas  Burns. 

A.  Between  midnight  and  day  on  Sunday  morning,  March 
31,  1807,  there  came  a  body  of  men  and  surrounded  the 
house  of  W.  A.  Burns  and  demanded  the  surrender  of  the 
house  and  all  that  was  in  it,  in  the  name  of  the  United 
States.  My  brother  Dallas  told  them  to  wait  until  morning 
and  they  would  surrender.  They  then  tried  to  open  tiie 
door,  and  ray  brother  Matt  told  them  that  if  they  broke 
open  the  door,  that  he  would  shoot  them.  They  then  said 
that  if  they  did  not  surrender  they  would  set  fire  to  the 
house.  They  then  told  my  father  that  they  would  giv^e  him 
until  they  could  count  twenty  to  surrender,  and  if  he  did  not 
surrender  in  that  time,  that  twenty  would  fire  into  the  house, 
and  forty  would  remain.  AVhen  they  counted  nineteen  my 
father  told  them  to  stop.  They  then  told  my  father  that  they 
would  give  him  until  they  could  count  five  to  surrender,  and 
if  he  did  not  surrender  in  that  time,  they  would  set  fire  to 
the  house.  They  then  counted  four,  and  my  father  told 
them  to  stop,  that  he  would  surrender.  My  father  then 
called  for  the  captain,  and  told  him  to  come  in  and  act  like 
a  gentleman,  and  tell  what  they  wanted.  At  that  time  one 
of  the  party  said,  '^  Here  is  the  captain,"  and  called  to  the 
captain  and  said  that  Burns  wished  to  see  him.  The  cap- 
tain came  in  and  several  other  men  at  the  same  time.  ^ly 
father  tried  to  keep  back  the  crowd,  and  some  one  of  the 
party  said,  *'  Burns,  you  shall  not  be  hurt."  They  then  re- 
marked that  there  were  four  gentlemen  in  here,  and  asked  if 
Dallas  Burns  was  present,  and  said  to  him,  "Step  out"; 
and  then  said,  '^  Matt  Burns,  are  you  here?"  and  told  him 
to  '^step  out,"  and  at  the  same  time  they  commenced  firing. 
When  they  commenced  firing  I  jumped  up  and  ran  to  the 


KECOXSTRUCTIOX  IN  TEXAS.  359 

door  and  commenced  screaming.  After  the  firing  had  ceased 
they  walked  out  of  the  house  and  were  hxughing,  and  about 
that  tune  there  was  another  shot  fired,  and  I  heard  some  one 
say,  ^'  Oh,  my  son  Johnny,  are  you  hurt  ?  ^^ 

Dallas  Burns  made  a  dying  statement,  in  which  he  said, 
"A  body  of  men  came  to  the  house  and  demanded  a  surren- 
der. This  we  refused  for  some  time.  The  captain  then 
came  to  the  door  and  talked  with  father,  and  told  him  he  did 
not  wish  to  hurt  him,  but  merely  to  arrest  my  brother  Matt 
and  myself,  under  military  authority.  Upon  this  we  sur- 
rendered. The  captain  came  in  and  made  a  motion  to  his 
men,  and  a  portion  of  their  crowd,  say  five  or  six,  came  into 
the  house  and  cocked  their  guns.  The  captain  called  for 
Dallas  Burns.  I  hesitated,  and  was  rather  slow  about 
coming  out,  and  the  captain  said,  ^Step  out,  damn  you,  and 
take  it,  for  you  have  it  to  do,'  when  I  stepped  out  in  the 
light  and  they  fired  upon  me." 

After  the  perpetration  of  this  atrocious  murder,  the  officer 
who  Avas  in  command  of  the  soldiers  who  did  it,  issued  a 
proclamation  in  which  he  denounced  citizens  of  the  county  as 
"  rebels ''  and  "  thieves/^  and  declared  that  for  the  commission 
of  offenses,  ^'  No  quarter  should  be  givenJ^ 

It  gives  no  pleasure  to  record  these  instances  of  cruelty 
and  outrage  that  were  perpetrated  by  the  troops  of  the  United 
States  upon  citizens  of  our  State,  but  they  serve  to  show  the 
dangers  always  incident  to,  if  not  inseparable  from  the 
exercise  of  military  power.  Let  no  one  suppose  that  the  in- 
stances given  were  isolated  cases  of  oppression  that  might 
occur  under  any  government,  however  good.  They  were  of  such 
frequent  occurrence  as  to  excite  the  alarm  of  good  people 
throughout  the  state.  No  Constitutional  barriers  stood  in 
the  way  of  military  authority,  and  it  seemed  to  hav^e  no 
respect  for  the  rights  and  privileges  that  have  always  been 
held  sacred  and  inviolable  by  American  citizens.  Any  good 
citizen  was  subject  to  arrest  and  imprisonment  who  had 
incurred  the  ill-will  of  some  negro,  or  the  animosity  of  some 
degraded  white  man,  who,  perhaps,  had  been  a  blatant  seces- 
sionist, but  for  puj'poses  of  gain,  denied  his  record  and  loudly 
proclaimed  that  he  had  ever  been  devoted  to  the  Union. 


360  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

Governor  Throckmorton  liad  much  correspondence  witli  the 
military  authorities  in  Texas  in  regard  to  the  various  and 
many  acts  of  oppression  which  our  citizens  liad  to  en(hire,  and 
did  everything  that  could  be  done  for  their  relief.  In  one  of 
his  letters  to  General  Sheridan,  he  says  : 

^'  I  know  some  of  the  veriest  rogues  and  scoundrels,  who 
to  protect  themselves,  have  applied  to  the  military,  and 
asserted  that  they  were  in  danger  because  of  their  Unionism, 
when  in  truth  their  Unionism  was  never  heard  of  until  after 
the  surrender "  This  was  unfortunately  true  in  too  many 
instances,  as  is  known  by  those  who  then  lived  in  Texas.  The 
war  had  brought  about  a  very  upheaval  of  society,  and  had 
thrown  to  the  surface  the  worst  element  it  contained,  and  this 
condition  of  affairs  was  recognized  by  the  negro  when  he 
said,  "The  bottom  rail  has  got  on  top." 

But  nothing  could  stop  the  despotism  of  hate,  and  all 
efforts  were  unavailing  to  stay  the  heavy  hand  of  military 
power.  The  reign  of  terror  continued,  and  outrages  upon 
our  citizens  were  of  almost  daily  occurrence.  It  would  re- 
quire too  much  space  to  give  an  account  of  all  the  oppressive 
acts  of  the  military,  and  the  wrongs  that  were  inflicted  upon 
individuals  in  the  state.  The  military  authorities  ])rofessed 
to  abhor  crime,  and  were  ever  ready  to  excuse  themselves  for 
their  arbitrary  conduct,  because  of  the  necessity  of  suppress- 
ing it,  and  yet  with  unblushing  effrontery  asked  Governor 
Throckmorton  that  he  at  once  extend  his  pardon  to  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty-seven  negro  crmvicts  in  the  state  peniten- 
tiary. These  negroes  were  guilty  of  almost  every  offense 
known  to  our  criminal  laws.  It  was,  as  a  matter  of  course 
assumed,  that  they  had  not  been  fairly  tried,  and  that  theirs 
conviction  was  the  result  of  prejudice,  and  a  disposition  on 
the  part  of  those  who  tried  them  to  deny  them  fair  treat- 
ment. 

The  absurdity  of  this  assumption  was  shown  by  the  Gov- 
ernor in  his  reply  to  the  application,  and  as  said  reply  gives  a 
true  statement  of  the  treatment  of  colored  persons  charged 
with  crime,  accorded  to  them  by  our  law,  and  the  manner  of 
its  enforcement  by  our  courts,  I  will,  notwithstanding  its 
length,  give  it  in  full,  viz : 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  TEXAS.  361 

Executive  Department  of  Texas,  Austin,  March  18,  1867. 
Brigadier-General  Oakes,  Commanding  U.  S.  Forces, 

Austin,  Texas. 

General  : — I  have  examined  carefully  tlie  communication  of  W.  H.  St. 
Chiir,  Inspector  B.  R.  F.  &  A.  L.,  addressed  to  Lieut.  I.  F.  Kirk  ham,  A.  A. 
General,  on  the  26th  ult.,  concerning:  the  freed  people  who  are  convicts  in 
the  State  Penitentiary,  together  with  the  accompanying  papers  which  were 
placed  in  my  hands  a  few  days  since  by  you.  In  answer  to  the  suggestions 
contained  in  the  communication  referred  to,  and  the  re({uest  made  tlirough 
you  by  Major  General  Griffin,  that  a  pardon  be  granted  the  convicts  al- 
luded to  (numbering  in  all  227),  I  most  respectfully  submit,  that  my  dutv 
as  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  this  state,  having  in  charge  a  due  enforcement 
of  the  laws  and  the  well-being  of  the  people  of  every  class  and  color,  pre- 
cludes the  indiscriminate  action  on  my  part  that  is  desired.  It  will  be  seen 
by  reference  to  the  report  made  by  the  Inspector,  that  these  pei'sons  are 
confined  for  various  offenses,  many  of  them  of  the  gravest  character,  in- 
cluding murder,  rape,  assault  Avith  intent  to  commit  rape,  arson,  robbery, 
burglary,  assaults  with  intent  to  murder,  aiding  prisoners  in  jail  to  escape, 
and  theft.  The  great  majority  are  for  theft,  and  in  many  instances  for 
stealing  small  amounts.  But  it  should  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  same  law 
was  applicable  and  operated  alike  upon  Avhite  persons,  and  that  a  party  is 
just  as  guilty  of  crime  should  the  ofiense  be  for  the  stealing  of  one  cent  as 
for  one  million,  though  the  punishment  is  greater  or  less  in  proportion  to 
the  amount  stolen. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  almost  every  case  the  conviction  has  been  for 
the  shortest  period  of  time  allowed  by  law.  For  your  information  and  that 
of  the  authorities  who  are  charged  with  the  well-being  of  the  freed  people, 
I  will  state,  that  under  our  laws,  no  person,  white  or  black,  can  be  prose- 
cuted in  our  courts  for  a  criminal  offense  without  having  counsel  to  conduct 
their  defense.  If  they  are  too  poor  to  employ  counsel,  or  do  not  do  so,  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  court  to  appoint  counsel  for  them,  unless  such  party  should 
see  proper  to  make  their  own  defense.  And  I  mention  it  as  a  fact  honora- 
ble to  the  judiciary  of  this  state,  that  it  is  the  general  custom  in  all  such 
cases,  to  appoint  the  most  able  and  experienced  members  of  the  bar.  I 
venture  the  assertion  with  great  confidence,  that  not  a  single  convict  was 
tried  without  having  reliable  and  respectable  counsel  to  defend  flie  case, 
and  in  no  instance  where  a  reasonable  showing  was  made  that  witnesses 
material  to  the  defense  were  absent,  have  they  been  hurried  or  forced  into 
trial  without  them. 

To  show  how  tender  the  courts  have  been  of  the  rights  of  this  class  of 
persons,  I  will  mention  a  fact  which  should  be  known  in  connection  with 
the  case  of  the  freedman,  Richard  Perkins.  In  this  case  Perkins  was  in- 
dicted for  murder,  and  able  counsel  was  assigned  him  by  the  court.  He 
desired  to  enter  the  plea  of  guilty,  and  so  expressed  himself  in  court ;  but 
the  state  having  all  the  witnesses  present  that  had  been  subpoenaed  in  the 
case,  the  court  would  not  permit  him  to  do  so. 

I  have  been  witness  repeatedly  to  the  exertions  made  by  counsel  thus 
assigned  in  defense  of  such  persons,  and  in  some  cases  I  know  of^  acquittals 
that  unquestionably  would  have  been  convictions  had  the  parties  on  trial 
been  of  the  white  race. 


362  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

To  the  ears  of  persons  who  have  been  taught  to  believe  that  the  people 
of  the  South  are  exasperated  with,  and- wish  to  oppress  the  neG:ro,  this  may 
appear  strange,  yet  it  is  true.  The  great  mass  of  our  people — and  I  am 
quite  sure  the  same  sentiment  has  due  weigiit  with  the  judiciary — feel  a 
sympathy  for  the  negro,  and  as  jurors,  make  a  due  allowance  for  his  situa- 
tion, and  tlie  temptations  by  which  he  has  been  beset  in  conseiiuence  of 
sudden  emancipation.  I  would  not  be  understood  as  asserting  tiuit  this  is 
true  of  every  person,  or  every  section,  but  it  is  tiie  general  feeling  enter- 
tained by  a  great  majority  of  our  people.  Nor  would  I  be  understood  as 
asserting" that  in  every  case  where  negroes  have  been  convicted,  tliat  a  due 
regard  lias  been  been  had  for  their  situation  and  ignorance,  nor  that  strict 
and  impartial  justice  has  in  ev^ery  instance  been  meted  out  to  them. 

I  deem  it  proper  in  this  connection,  as  controverting  the  general  charge 
made  against  Oiir  peo|)le  of  hostility  to  the  negro,  and  of  the  same  implied 
cliarge  in  Inspector  St.  Clair's  statement,  that  in  quite  a  number  of  cases 
memorials  have  been  addressed  to  me,  signed  by  the  judges,  oflicers  of  the 
law,  members  of  the  bar  and  citizens,  asking  pardons  for  freed  men  who 
have  been  convicted  of  various  offenses,  including  homicides  and  other  of- 
fenses, down  to  misdemeanors.  (Juite  a  number  of  pardons  have  been 
granted  by  me,  including  some  of  the  lists  sent  up  from  the  penitentiary. 
In  every  instance  but  one,  ihe  white  persr)ns  making  the  applications  for 
pardon,  have  paid  the  fees  of  officers  and  costs  of  court,  amounting  usually 
from  thirty  to  tifty  dollars,  and  sometimes  more  in  felony  cases.  Some  pe- 
titions have  been  sent  to  me,  signed  by  most  respectable  citizens,  asking 
pardon  for  freedmen  that  I  have  not  granted,  because  I  did  not  think  the 
cases  presented  came  within  the  rule  where  executive  clemency  should  be 
exercised. 

I  would  most  respectfully  remind  the  authorities  that  the  class  of  freefl- 
men  now  confined  in  the  penitentiary,  as  a  general  rule,  is  the  most  vicious 
and  dishonest  of  the  entire  freed  population  of  the  state.  And  instead  of 
astonishment  being  expressed  at  the  number,  I  think  it  speaks  well  for  the 
people  themselves,  and  is  a  contradiction  to  the  charge  of  white  oppression 
that  the  number  should  be  no  greater  than  it  is. 

At  the  time  of  the  surrender,  the  black  population  of  Texas  could  not 
have  been  less  than  four  hundred  thousand.  Since  then  a  great  reduction 
has  occurred  on  account  of  the  numbers  who  have  returned  to  Louisiana, 
Arkansas,  Missouri  and  other  states.  Taking  a  period  of  two  years,  under 
the  circumstances  when  there  was  no  government  of  any  kind  in  the  State 
for  several  months,  with  tlie  country  deuioralized  by  war,  and  with  such  a 
large  number  of  the  slaves  suddenly  emancipated,  it  is  remarkable  indeed, 
that  a  greater  number  of  crimes  were  not  committed,  and  a  much  greater 
nmnber  of  convictions  had.  In  looking  over  the  statements  of  the  con- 
victs, I  have  been  impressed  with  the  falsehoods  uttered  by  the  convicts, 
and  evidently  relied  upon  by  the  agents,  which  should  be  apparent  to  any 
one  acquainted  with  affairs  in  this  state.  Some  killed  hogs,  others  stole 
bacon,  etc.,  bacause  as  they  said,  they  were  hungry,  and  their  employers  did 
not  furnish  rations.  The  great  effort  to  procure  and  retain  labor,  if  fair 
dealins:  was  out  of  the  question,  makes  such  statements  as  these  very  im- 
probable ;  nor  do  1  believe  them  true.  Quite  a  number  acknowledge  to  the 
takin;;  of  the  articles  charged,  but  render  as  an  excuse  that  the  parties  from 
whom  they  took  them  were  in  their  debt ;  others  made  mistakes,  and  not 


KECOXSTRUCTION  IN  TEXAS.  363 

a  few  said  they  did  not  do  the  stealing,  but  the  property  was  found  in  their 
possession,  etc.  It  will  afford  me  much  pleasure  to  co-operate  with  the 
authorities  of  the  Bureau  in  ascertaining  the  facts  of  any  individual  case 
and  whenever  any  reasonable  cause  can  be  shown  why  executive  clemency 
should  be  exercised,  it  will  be  freely  and  cheerfully  extended.  But  these 
facts  must  come  from  the  officers  of  the  court  where  the  parties  were  tried, 
or  from  citizens  of  respectability  who  are  acquainted  with  the  previous 
characters  of  the  convicts.  I  would  say  further  that  it  is  not  the  value  or 
amount  of  the  articles  stolen  that  should  influence  interference  in  these 
cases.  If  the  offender  was  of  reasonably  good  character  and  habits  previ- 
ous to  conviction,  then  it  should  have  due  weight;  but  if  such  character  had 
been  bad  and  vicious  it  should  not  be  regarded.  It  i^  certainly  a  novel 
proceeding,  and  I  cannot  believe  it  is  justifiable,  that  an  application  of  this 
character  should  be  based  upon  the  statement  of  the  convicts.  The  course 
pursued  by  the  Inspector  in  raising  in  the  minds  .of  the  convicts  an  expec- 
tation of  release  is,  in  my  candid  judgment  reprehensible  and  cannot  fail 
to  prove  mischievous  ;  and  were  I  to  release  them  would  prove  of  the  great- 
est injury  to  them.  It  would  be  regarded  as  a  license,  and  be  an  incentive 
to  them  to  commit  other  offenses.  I  trust  in  the  future  the  Chief  of  the 
Bureau  will  permit  no  further  interference  of  this  kind  with  the  municipal 
and  police  regulations  of  this  state. 

I  must  be  allowed  also  to  remark,  that  the  statements  and  implied  cen- 
sures of  the  Inspector,  St.  Clair,  towards  the  courts,  people  and  authorities 
of  this  state,  are  neither  courteous  nor  respectful ;  nor  are  they  warranted 
by  facts. 

I  cannot  close  this  communication  without  stating  to  the  officers  of  the 
Bureau  that  I  will,  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances,  affi)rd  them 
all  the  aid  in  my  power  to  secure  every  right  to  the  freed  people  of  this 
state  that  is  guaranteed  by  the  laws  of  the  state  and  general  government, 
and  will  be  always  ready  to  extend  to  these  people  the  broadest  mantle  of 
mercy  and  charity,  where  it  can  be  done  with  a  due  res^ard  to  their  inter- 
ests and  a  just  respect  for  the  interests  of  the  whole  body  politic. 

With  sentiments  of  great  respect,  I  am,  General, 

Most  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  W.  Throckmorton,  Governor  of  Texas. 

No  jiiat  man  can  find  fault  with  Governor  Throckmorton 
for  refusing  to  pardon  these  convicts,  and  yet  there  is  no 
doubt  but  that  his  refusal  to  pardon  them  was  one  of  the  rea- 
sons that  induced  General  Sheridan  to  believe  him  to  be  ''  an 
impediment  to  the  reconstruction  of  Texas  under  the  law." 
It  may  be  that  General  Sheridan  had  another  reason  for 
believing  Governor  Throckmorton  to  be  an  impediment  to 
reconstruction.  The  Governor,  as  was  his  duty,  had  applied  to 
General  Sheridan  to  place  troops  upon  the  frontier  to  protect  to 
our  people  from  the  depredations  of  Indians,  and  General 
Sheridan,  in  reply  to  this  application,  said  :  "  Tliere  were 
more   casualties  occurring  from  outrages  perpetrated    upon 


364  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ?  ^ 

Union  men  and  freedmen  in  the  interior  of  this  state  than 
occurs  from  Indian  depredations  upon  the  frontier."  Governor 
Throckmorton  replied  to  this  statement  made  by  General 
Sheridan,  and  said  :  ''General,  this  is  truly  a  startling  state- 
ment, and  I  exceedingly  regret  that  you  have  been  so  unfa- 
vorably impressed  with  the  general  cliaracter  of  the  people  of 
Texas,  and  that  your  information  should  be  so  incorrect. 
1  am  frank  to  admit  that  many  violations  of  law  occur  in  the 
interior  of  Texas;  but  that  these  things  are  the  result  of 
rebellious  sentiment  among  the  people,  or  that  the  outrages 
committed  in  consequence  of  this  rebellious  feeling  are  far  in 
exce3s  of  the  Indian  depredations  upon  the  frontier,  I  must 
solemly  and  emphatically  deny.  You  have  heard  one  side  of 
the  story.  Perhaps  if  the  people  or  authorities  of  Texas  had 
been  as  persistent  and  mendacious  in  their  version  of  these 
affairs  to  you  and  your  officers,  as  have  been  the  howling  crowd 
of  canting,  lying  scamps,  who  were  doing  everything  in  their 
power  to  make  trouble  and  produce  alienation  of  feeling 
betwen  countrymen,  you  might  not  think  so  badly  of  us.  I 
most  positively  assert  that,  of  all  the  outrages  occurring  in 
Texas  since  the  surrender,  but  the  fewest  possible  number 
have  originated  out  of  the  feeling  alluded  to  by  you." 

This  was  a  flat  contradiction  of  the  statement  that  General 
Sheridan  had  made,  and  it  possibly  irritated  him.  But  this 
was  not  all.  Gov.  Throckmorton,  in  replying  to  the  charge 
made  by  Gen.  Sheridan,  that  the  people  of  Texas  had  perpe- 
trated such  numerous  outrages  upon  Union  men  and  Freedmen, 
saw  fit  to  call  the  General's  attention  to  the  fact  that  much 
crime  in  Texas  had  been  perpetrated  by  Federal  soldiers  in 
his  command.     For  in  another  place  in  his  letter,  he  said : 

"Suffer  me  to  say  that,  of  the  robberies  committed  upon 
freedmen  in  Texas,  a  great  number  of  them  have  been  by 
soldiers  in  your  command,  and  others  who  have  been  dis- 
charged, or  deserted  from  it.  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the 
negroes  in  the  localities  of  the  troops  are  more  afraid  of  im])0- 
sition  from  the  soldiers  than  from  any  other  quarter.  Many 
of  the  outrages  that  have  occurred  in  Texas  have  been  per- 
petrated by  deserters  and  discharged  soldiers  from  the  army 
of  the  United  States.     A  band  of  seventeen  or  eighteen  in 


KECOXSTRUCTION  IN  TEXAS.  365 

one  body  went  to  general  robbing,  and  are  now  in  the  state 
penitentiary.  Another  band  of  deserters  from  the  6th  cavalry 
went  directly  North  through  the  state  from  Waco,  and  com- 
mitted every  species  of  outrage.  Other  squads  who  were  dis- 
charged, traveled  through  the  state  on  their  way  North,  some- 
times repi'esenting  a  Quartermaster  and  Commissary  and  giv- 
ing receipts,  and  in  other  places  taking  by  force.^^ 

This  probably  was  the  ''straw  which  broke  the  camel's 
back''  and  in  the  opinion  of  Gen.  Sheridan,  made  Throck- 
morton an  "  impediment." 

The  reconstruction  act  of  March  2nd,  1867,  declared  that 
no  legal  State  Governments,  or  adequate  protection  for  life  or 
property  existed  in  the  states  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina, 
South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  Louisiana, 
Florida,  Texas  and  Arkansas,  and  divided  said  states  into 
military  districts,  and  subjected  them  to  the  military  authority 
of  the  United  States,  and  Louisiana  and  Texas  were  made  the 
5th  military  district.  Said  act  in  section  6  also  provides; 
*'  That  until  the  people  of  said  Rebel  States  shall  be,  by  law, 
admitted  to  representation  in  the  Congress  of  the  TJnited 
States,  any  civil  government  which  may  exist  therein  shall  be 
deemed  provisional  only,  and  in  all  respects  subject  to  the  par- 
amount authority  of  the  United  States,  at  any  time  to  abolish, 
modify,  control  or  supersede  the  same." 

Thus  was  the  state  government  that  had  been  organized  by  the 
people  of  Texas  at  the  instance  of,  and  by  the  authority  of, 
the  Federal  Government,  subordinated  to  the  military  author- 
ity of  the  United  States,  and  he  whom  the  people  of  Texas 
had  elected  Governor  of  their  state  became  subject  to  the  or- 
der of  an  officer  of  the  United  States  army. 

This  was  humiliating  to  Gov^  Throckmorton,  and  it  was  as 
much  £0  to  the  people  of  Texas.  With  the  hope  of  being  able 
to  serve  his  people,  and  to  some  extent  alleviate  their  situation, 
he  sacrificed  all  personal  feeling,  and  devoted  himself  to  their 
interests.  He  at  once  placed  himself  in  communication  with 
Gen.  P.  H.  Sheridan,  who  had  been  placed  in  command  of 
the  5th  military  district,  and  signified  his  willingness  to  co- 
operate with  him  in  the  reorganization  of  the  state.  He  wrote 
to  General  Sheridan  as  follows : 


366  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Executive  Office,  Austin,  March  30,  1867. 
Major-General  Sheridan,  Commantling  Louisiana  and  Texas, 

New  Orleans. 
General  : — Your  telegram  of  yesterday  in  answer  to  mine  of  the  27th, 
informing  me  that  Brevet  Major  General  Charles  Griffin  has  direction  of 
the  details  of  the  reorganization  of  this  state,  is  received.  I  think  I  am 
justified  in  the  statement  that  the  people  of  Texas  will  participate  in  the 
reorganization  with  great  unanimity.  While  the  people  with  very  little 
division  of  sentiment  regard  the  terms  imposed  as  onerous  and  oppresi;ive, 
yet  they  are  determined  to  abide  the  laws  and  comply  with  them.  As  the 
chief  magistrate  I  shall  lend  a  prompt  assistance  when  in  my  power,  to 
carry  into  eflbct  the  laws  referred  to,  and  shall  advise  the  people  to  jjartici- 
pate  in  the  reorganization  with  good  feeling  and  to  the  extent  of  securing 
to  the  newly  enfranchised  class  the  freest  exercise  of  the  privilege  conferred. 
1  have  such  assurances  from  various  parts  of  the  state,  and  from  most  intelli- 
gent and  respectable  citizens,  that  I  apprehend  General  GriflSn  will  have 
but  little  difficulty  in  thedisthargeof  his  delicate  labors.  The  people  will 
register  promptly,  when  called  upon  to  avail  themselves  of  all  the  privi- 
leges allowed.  1  I'eel  confident  in  tiie  liope  that  yourself  and  General  Griffin 
■will  extend  to  the  people  every  facility  possible,  in  order  that  they  may 
comply  with  the  requirements  of  the  law.     I  am,  General, 

Very  respectfully. 
Your  obedient  servant, 
J.  W.  Throckmorton. 

The  foregoing  letter  was  a  manly  acceptance  of  the  situa- 
tion, and  notwithstanding  the  increased  embarrassment  of 
his  position,  caused  by  the  action  of  Congress,  Governor 
Throckmorton  continued  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his  office 
with  the  same  energy  and  ability  that  had  ever  characterized 
his  official  conduct.  Never  for  a  moment  did  he  cease  to 
have  the  law  rigidly,  but  impartially  enforced  in  every 
county,  and  but  for  the  intermeddling  of  the  military,  peace 
would  have  prevailed  througliout  the  state.  He  was  ever 
ready  to  assist  the  military  authorities  in  the  discharge  of 
their  legitimate  duties,  and  no  request  for  aid  of  any  sort 
that  would  facilitate  reorganization  of  the  state  was  made  of 
him  that  he  did  not  most  cheerfully  give.  But  at  no  time 
did  he  fail  to  protest  against  their  usurpation  of  power  and 
do  his  best  to  protect  his  people  from  cruelty  and  oppression. 
It  was  his  fearless  efforts  to  protect  his  peo]^le  that  led  to  his 
removal.  On  the  30th  day  of  July,  1867,  General  Sheridan, 
who  was  in  command  of  the  Fifth  Military  District,  issued 
the  following  order : 


LEECONSTRUCTION  IN  TEXAS.  367 

New-  Orleans,  July  30,  18G7. 
Special  Order  No.  1G5. 

A  careful  consideration  ot  the  reports  of  Major-General  Charles  GrifBn, 
U.  S.  Army,  shows  tliat  J.  W.  Throckmorton,  Governor  of  Texas,  is  an 
impediment  to  the  reconstruction  of  that  state  under  the  law  ;  he  is  therefore 
removed  from  that  office.  E.  M.  Pease  is  hereby  appointed  Governor  of 
Texas,  in  place  of  J.  W.  Throckmorton  removed.  He  will  be  obeyed  and 
respected  accordingly.  By  command  of  Major-General  P.  H.  Sheridan. 
(Signed.)  •  George  S.  Hartruff, 

Assistant  Adjutant  General. 
(Official.) 
George  Lee, 

1st  Lieutenant,  21st  U.  S.  Infantry, 

Acting  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

When  served  with  the  above  order,  Governor  Throckmorton 
published  an  address  to  the  people  of  Texas,  in  which  he 
gave  a  review  of  his  official  conduct,  and  showed  that  as 
Governor  he  had  not  been  an  impediment  to  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  state,  but  had  been  an  "impediment '^  to  the 
despotic  exercise  of  military  power. 

E.  M.  Pease  who  was  made  Provisional  Governor  of  Texas 
by  order  of  General  Sheridan,  was  an  old  citizen,  who  had 
been  Governor  of  the  state  before  the  war.  The  people  of 
Texas  had  the  right  to  expect  from  him,  at  least,  fair  treat- 
ment, but  they  were  doomed  to  disappointment.  Previous  to 
the  war  he  had  been  an  ultra  Democrat,  but  because  of  issues 
growing  out  of  the  war,  he  had  become  a  Republican.  Dif- 
fering with  a  large  majority  of  the  people  of  Texas  about 
political  matters,  he  became  embittered  in  his  feelings,  and 
seemed  to  be  imbued  with  hatred  to  those  from  whom  he  had 
obtained  his  wealth  and  position.  Not  long  after  he  became 
Provisional  Governor,  he  built  for  himself  a  monument  of 
infamy  that  time  will  not  destroy.  This  man  Pease,  in  a 
letter  to  General  AV.  S.  Hancock,  then  commanding  the  Fifth 
Military  District,  libelled  his  people,  and  asked  General  Han- 
cock to  establish  military  tribunals— drumhead  court-mar- 
tials— for  the  trial  of  citizens  who  might  be  charged  with 
offenses,  for  the  perpetration  of  which,  if  guilty,  they  were 
only  amenable  to  the  civil  law. 

The  great  soldier  and  hero  spurned  the  proposition,  and 
indignantly  refused  to  become  a  party  to  such  a  crime.  The 
just  rebuke  administered  by  General  Hancock  in  his  reply  to 


368  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

the  application  made  by  Pease  will  not  be  soon  forgotten  by 
the  American  ])eople.  It  is  a  production  worthy  of  the  pen 
of  any  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Republic.  But,  unfortunately, 
the  views  expi'essed  by  General  Hancock  did  not  accord  with 
those  entertained  by  the  Administration  at  Washiugton,  and 
he  was  soon  removed,  and  one  wlio  knew  less  of  the  Consti- 
tution and  more  of  tyranny  became  his  successor.  Civil  law 
w^as  again  subverted,  and  unlicensed  military  power  was  su- 
preme. The  ])eople  were  helpless.  Throckmorton,  who  had 
labored  to  protect  them,  was  succeeded  by  one  who  had  actu- 
ally invited  their  oppression.  Military  commissions  sat  in 
various  sections  of  the  state,  and  citizens  of  the  highest  re- 
spectability were  brought  before  them  and  given  a  mere 
mockery  of  trial,  and  sentenced  to  ignominious  punishment. 
The  judges  were  appointed  and  removed  at  the  pleasure  of 
the  military  authorities,  and  very  many  of  them  had  no 
higher  conception  of  duty  tlxin  to  obey  the  behests  of  their 
masters.  Those  who  dared  to  manifest  independence  of 
thought  and  action  were  not  permitted  to  obstruct  or  defeat 
the  purposes  of  those  who  were  in  authority,  but  were  removed 
and  their  places  supplied  with  others  of  less  capacity  and 
honor.  It  was  useless  to  ask  such  men  to  interpose  their 
judicial  authority  for  the  protection  of  the  citizen.  They 
recognized  no  right  except  such  as  was  graciously  accorded  by 
arbitrary  power,  and  with  them  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus 
was  not  a  v/rit  of  right,  but  an  act  of  grace.  In  one  instance 
a  United  States  District  Judge,  when  applied  to  for  the  writ 
of  habeas  corpus  by  a  number  of  men  who  were  on  trial  be- 
fore a  military  commission,  refused  to  make  any  order  grant- 
ing or  refusing  the  writ,  and  gave  as  a  reason  for  his  refusal 
to  act,  that  he  could  not  afford  to  do  anythiug  that  would 
require  of  him  a  decision  involving  the  constitutionality  of 
the  reconstruction  laws. 

The  cowardly  fear  manifested  by  this  Judge  well  illustrates 
the  condition  of  the  country  at  that  time,  and  the  awe  that 
was  inspired  by  military  government. 

What  is  known  as  the  Reconstruction  Convention  assem- 
bled at  the  capitol,  in  Austin,  on  the  1st  day  of  June,  1868. 
No  one  had  been  permitted  to  vote  for  the  election  of  dele- 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  TEXAS.  369 

gates  to  this  convention  who  had  not  been  registered,  and  the 
registration  had  been  so  managed  by  the  military  anthorities 
as  to  give  the  entire  control  of  it  to  negroes  and  carpet-bag 
Republicans.  The  result  of  such  conduct  was  to  prevent 
thousands  of  Democrats  from  being  registered  and  the  elec- 
tion of  a  large  majority  of  Republicans  as  delegates  to  the 
convention.  After  organization  of  the  convention  had  been 
perfected,  the  Provisional  Governor,  E.  M.  Pease,  sent  to  it  a 
message,  in  which  he  told  but  one  truth  about  the  people  of 
Texas,  and  that  was,  "I  knew  that  my  appointment  was  dis- 
tasteful to  a  large  majority  of  the  people  of  Texas  who  had 
participated  in  the  rebellion,  and  who  have  heretofore  exer- 
cised the  political  power  of  the  state.'^ 

He  was  prolific  in  his  suggestions,  and  advised  a  dismem- 
berment of  the  state  by  selling  a  portion  of  its  territory  to 
the  United  States;  and  among  other  evidences  of  his  little- 
ness, he  said  to  the  convention,  ^^It  is  expected  that  you  will 
temporarily  disfranchise  a  number  of  those  who  participated 
in  the  rebellion,  sufficient  to  place  the  state  in  the  hands  of 
those  who  are  loyal  to  the  United  States  Government;'^  the 
obvious  meaning  of  which  was  the  disfranchisement  of 
enough  Democrats  to  place  in  power  for  years  to  come  the 
Republican  party  in  Texas. 

The  Constitution  framed  by  this  convention  was,  as  might 
hav^e  been  expected,  filled  with  provisions  which  gave  warrant 
for  the  exercise  of  despotic  power,  and  it  was  ratified  by  the 
same  class  of  voters  who  had  authorized  its  creation.  Under 
it  an  election  for  Governor  and  other  state  officers  was  held, 
and  Edmund  J.  Davis  was  counted  in  as  Governor  of  Texas 
by  the  military  authority  of  the  United  States.  Davis  v/as 
a  native  of  Florida,  but  for  many  years  had  resided  in  Texas. 
During  the  war  he  had  been  a  soldier  in  the  Federal  army 
and  had  attained  the  rank  of  Brigadier  General.  He  was  a 
Republican,  and  so  was  his  only  opponent.  Governor  A.  J. 
Hamilton;  but  Hamilton  was  more  conservative  in  his  views, 
and,  therefore,  more  acceptable  to  the  people  of  Texas.  The 
Democrats  presented  no  candidate  for  Goverflor,  for  it  was 
evident  that  if  a  Democrat  was  elected  he  would  not  be  per- 
mitted to  fill  the-position.     Such  Democrats  as  were  allowed 

24 


370  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

to  vote,  and  availed  themselves  of  their  privilege,  supported 
Hamilton.  There  is  no  doubt  but  what  Hamilton  was 
elected.  But  it  had  been  determined  by  those  in  power  that 
he  should  not  have  the  office.  Many  counties  which  gave 
large  majorities  to  Hamilton  were  illegally  thrown  out,  and 
other  expedients  were  resorted  to  by  those  in  authority  to 
enable  them  to  declare  the  election  of  Davis.  So  it  was  with 
the  Legislature.  It  was  officially  declared  that  each  house 
liad  a  majority  of  Republicans,  and  thus,  by  skillful  counting, 
any  conflict  between  the  executive  and  the  legislative  depart- 
ments of  the  government  was  avoided. 

The  first  Legislature  after  reconstruction  that  assembled  in 
Texas,  known  as  the  12th  Legislature,  has  passed  into  history 
as  the  most  venal  and  corru])t  body  that  ever  disgraced  the 
state.  Aside  from  purely  political  measures,  it  is  said  money 
was  freely  used  to  procure  legislation,  and  that  there  was 
scarcely  any  attempt  at  concealment.  The  lobby  was  thronged 
with  shrewd  and  unprincipled  men  from  almost  every  where,who 
Avere  seeking  to  rob  the  state  of  both  land  and  money.  Charters 
obtained  to  sell,  were  granted  for  almost  every  conceivable 
purpose.  Governor  Davis,  though  a  bigot  in  politics,  had  the 
reputation  of  being  an  honest  man,  and  he  endeavored  to  check 
this  character  of  legislation  by  the  exercise  of  the  veto  power, 
but  he  could  do  no  good,  for  the  bills  were  passed  by  the  re- 
quisite majority  over  his  objections.  Bribery  and  corruption 
were  the  least  of  the  evils  with  which  the  people  of  Texas  had 
to  contend.  The  party  then  dominant  in  the  state  had  been 
so  long  accustomed  to  rely  upon  the  military  power  of  the 
United  States  that  it  seemed  to  be  incapable  of  administering 
civil  government,  and  its  leaders  recognized  the  fact  that  the 
government  which  they  had  organized  for  the  state  was  not  a 
*'  Government  of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for  the 
people,"  and  could  only  be  a  Government  of  force. 

Governor  Davis  in  his  first  message  to  the  Legislature  re- 
commended ^'  that  a  police  system  be  adopted  embracing  the 
whole  state  under  one  head,"  and  said  that  no  system  of  laws 
for  the  suppression  of  crime,  however  severe  will  be  complete 
"  without  such  powers  are  conferred  on  the  Executive  as  will 
enable  him  in  any  emergency  to  act  with  the  authority  of 


EECONSTEUCTION  IN  TEXAS.  37j 

law."  What  a  spectacle  was  here  presented  ?  A  man  who 
claimed  to  have  been  elected  the  Governor  of  one  of  the  States 
of  this  Union  demanding  of  the  Legislature  of  that  state 
that  he  be  clothed  with  the  authority  of  law  for  the  exercise  of 
despotic  power.  In  this  boasted  land  of  liberty,  it  is  hard  to 
realize  that  such  a  demand  could  have  been  made,  but  it  is 
more  difficult  to  believe  that  the  Legislature  complied  with  it. 
The  Governor  also  suggested  to  the  Legislature  "  the  question 
of  making  some  provision  for  the  temporary  establishment  of 
martial  law."  Evidently  it  was  his  design  to  subvert  the 
liberties  of  the  people  and  to  have  authority  to  maintain  a 
government  of  force,  and  to  this  end  he  determined  upon  the 
organization  of  a  military  force,  that  should  be  composed  of 
such  material  as  he  desired. 

The  Legislature  promptly  responded  to  the  demands  of  the 
Governor,  and  passed  several  acts  that  enabled  him  to  carry 
out  his  wicked  purpose.  The  first  one  we  shall  notice  is  an 
act  entitled  "An  Act  to  Provide  for  the  Enrollment  of  the 
Militia,  the  Organization  and  Discipline  of  the  State  Guard 
and  for  the  Public  Defense."  By  this  act  all  able-bodied 
male  citizens  residing  in  the  state,  between  the  ages  of  18  and 
45  were  made  subject  to  military  duty,  except  certain  classes 
therein  mentioned,  and  the  Governor  was  made  Commander- 
in-Chief  of  all  the  military  forces  of  the  state.  The  militia 
were,  by  the  act,  divided  into  two  classes — one  was  called 
''The  State  Guard  of  Texas "  and  the  other  the  '^  Reserve 
Militia."  It  ^vas  declared  that  the  State  Guard  of  Texas  "shall 
consist  of  male  persons  between  the  ages  of  18  and  45  who 
shall  voluntarily  enroll  and  uniform  themselves  for  service 
therein,  provided  the  Commander-in-Chief  {the  Governor)  shall 
designate  the  number  of  me7i  in  each  county  in  this  state  allowed  to 
enroll  in  the  State  Guard,  and  have  the  power  to  reject  any  person 
offering  himself  for  enrollment  in  the  sameP  The  reserve  mil  itia 
was  composed  of  all  persons  subject  to  military  duty  who  had  not 
enrolled  in  the  State  Guard.  Thus  was  the  Governor  enabled  to 
organize  troops  without  limit  as  to  number,  to  be  composed  of  a 
class  of  men  that  he  wanted  to  execute  his  designs.  A  learned 
lawyer  and  distinguished  citizen  of  Texas,  not  very  long  after 
the  passage  of  this  law,  in  commenting  upon  it  said  :     "  We 


372  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

desire  to  call  attention  to  the  very  important  fact,  that  this 
act  permits  able-bodied  male  citizens,  residents  in  the  state,  to 
enroll  in  the  reserve  militia,  but  all  persons  without  qualifica- 
tions between  the  ages  of  18  and  45  can  enroll  in  the  State 
Guards  provided  they  suit  the  purposes  of  the  Governor." 
Why  this  distinction?  The  common  sense  of  every  man  will 
suggest  to  his  mind  the  answer.  This  State  Guard  is  pecu- 
liarly the  Governor's  army,  selected  and  organized  out  of  such 
material  as  will  serve  his  purposes.  The  Reserve  Militia  can 
lOnly  be  composed  of  resident  citizens  of  Texas,  and  per- 
haps would  refuse  to  murder,  rob  and  pilfer  their  fellow-citizens, 
should  they  be  called  upon  to  do  so  by  the  Commander-in-Chief. 
They  are  what  this  act  designates  them,  ^'  Reserve/'  They  can- 
not act  unless  called  out  by  the  Commander-in-Chief.  They 
remain  unorganized,  unarmed  and  unequipped,  but  we  find 
the  State  Guard  fully  organized  and  equipped,  scattered 
through  every  or  nearly  every  county  in  the  state,  eating  up 
the  substance  of  the  ])eople,  and  in  very  many  instances  mur- 
dering innocent  and  unoffending  citizens  ;  depriving  them  of 
their  property  by  force  or  fraud  ;  disturbing  the  peace  and 
quiet  of  whole  communities  and  inflaming  the  animosity  of 
the  races  ;  and  in  a  word  fully  carrying  out  the  purposes  and 
interests  of  their  organization.  To  use  the  Governor's  own 
language,  the  Legislature  in  the  passage  of  this  act  has  con- 
ferred "  upon  the  Executive  such  powers  as  will  enable  him 
in  any  emergency  to  act  wath  authority  of  law." 

In  response  to  the  suggestion  made  by  the  Governor  in  re- 
gard to  martial  law,  the  26th  section  of  the  act  we  are  consid- 
ering, provided  "it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Governor,  and  he 
is  hereby  authorized  whenever  in  his  opinion  the  enforcement 
of  the  law  of  this  state  is  obstructed,  within  any  county  or 
counties  by  combination  of  lawless  men  too  strong  for  the 
control  of  the  civil  authorities,  to  declare  such  county  or  coun- 
ties under  martial  law,  and  to  suspend  the  laws  therein  until 
the  Legislature  shall  convene  and  take  such  action  as  it  may 
deem  necessary." 

Not  content  with  the  military  force  already  provided,  and 
the  extraordinary  powers  conferred  on  the  Governor,  the  Leg- 
islature on  the  1st  day  of  July,  1870,  passed  an  act  entitled 


KECONSTEUCTION  IN  TEXAS.  373 

"  An  Act  to  Establish  a  State  Police  and  Provide  for  the 
Regulation  and  Government  of  the  Same/' 

By  the  terms  of  this  act,  the  force  was  composed  of  one 
Chief  of  Police,  four  Captains,  eight  Lieutenants,  twenty 
Sergeants  and  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  Privates.  In 
addition  to  the  above  force,  the  act  provided  that  "All 
sheriffs  and  their  deputies,  constables,  marshals  of  cities  and 
towns,  and  their  deputies,  and  police  of  cities  and  towns  shall 
be  considered  as  a  part  of  the  State  Police,  and  be  subject  to 
the  supervisory  control  of  the  Governor  and  Chief  of  State  Po- 
lice, and  under  directions  of  the  Governor,  or  Chief  of  State 
Police,  may  at  any  time  be  called  upon  to  act  in  concert  with 
the  State  Police  in  preserving  or  suppressing  crime,  or  in 
bringing  to  justice,  offenders.  The  Chief  of  State  Police, 
subject  to  the  Governor^  may  make  all  needful  regulations  and 
rules  for  the  government  and  direction  of  these  officers  in 
matters  looking  to  the  maintenance  of  public  peace,  prevent- 
ing or  suppressing  crime  and  bringing  to  justice  offenders, 
and  any  ot  these  ojisers  failing  or  refusing  j^^^ompt  obedience  to 
such  rules  or  regulations^  or  to  the  orders  of  the  Governor,  or 
Chief  of  State  Police,  shall  be  removed  from  office,  and  suffer 
such  other  punishment  as  may  he  prescribed  by  law.^^ 

This  was  an  extraordinary  power  to  confer  upon  the  Gov- 
ernor. It  gave  him  control  of  all  the  civil  executive  offices 
of  the  state,  and  subjected  them  to  removal  from  office,  if 
they  failed  or  refused  prompt  obedience  to  the  rules  and  reg- 
ulations of  the  State  Police,  or  to  the  orders  of  the  Governor 
or  Chief  of  State  Police.  The  Governor  had  asked  the 
Legislature  ''to  confer  on  him  such  powers  as  would  enable 
him  in  any  emergency  to  act  with  authority  of  law."  In  this 
act  his  request  was  literally  complied  with,  and  his  pleasure 
or  will,  mide  the  paramount  law  of  the  state.  The  law  cre- 
ating the  State  Police  was  amended  so  as  to  enable  the  Gov- 
ernor to  appoint  an  additional  force  of  twenty  men  in  each 
county,  the  expense  of  which  was  to  be  borne  by  the  people 
of  the  respective  counties. 

This  additional  force,  like  the  others,  was  made  subject  to 
the  order  of  the  Governor  and  could  be  used  by  him  at 
his  pleasure.  Was  ever  king,  prince  or  potentate  clothed 
with  greater  power ! 


374  '^'HY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

The  Davis  administration  was  the  result  of  the  methods 
adopted  by  the  authorities  of  the  United  States,  who  were  in 
control  of  the  state  during  reconstruction.  It  was  the  legiti- 
mate child  of  arbitrary  power,  and  the  continuation  of 
despotic  governmenfe  in  its  very  worst  form.  This  was  soon 
made  manifest  to  the  people  of  Texas.  Terrible  as  had  been 
the  oppression  of  the  people  by  the  military  authorities  of  the 
Federal  Government,  it  was  now  even  worse.  Men,  if  possi- 
ble, more  infamous  and  of  less  responsibility,  were  in  a  posi- 
tion to  injure  and  harass  the  people.  Not  unfrequejitly  they 
availed  themselves  of  their  official  position  to  wreak  ven- 
geance upon  those  who  had  incurred  their  personal  animosity. 

The  state  police  was  a  terror  to  every  community,  and  in 
the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  state,  they  perpetrated 
crimes  of  every  dcscri})tion.  They  searched  any  place,  or 
seized  any  person  or  thing,  and  without  probable  cause  sup- 
ported by  oath  or  affirmation.  The  Governor  held  that  the 
uniform  which  was  worn  by  the  State  Guard  and  state  police, 
together  with  their  silver  badge  of  office,  supplied  the  place 
of  affidavits  and  warrants,  and  authorized  persons  wearing 
the  same  to  search  any  place,  or  to  seize  any  person  or  thing. 

In  the  month  of  December,  1870,  one  Lieutenant  Prit- 
chett,  at  the  head  of  three  white  and  four  negro  police,  went 
to  the  house  of  Colonel  James  J.  Gathings,  in  Hill  County, 
and  by  force  entered  the  same  and  searched  it,  against  the 
protest  of  the  proprietor.  This  was  done  without  any 
authority  of  law,  and  no  charge  of  any  kind  had  been  pre- 
ferred against  Colonel  Gathings  or  any  of  his  family.  After 
they  had  left  the  house,  Gathings  went  to  the  nearest  magis- 
trate and  made  affidavit  to  the  facts,  upon  which  the  magis- 
trate issued  his  warrant  for  the  arrest  of  the  parties  offending. 
Lieutenant  Pritchett  and  his  party  were  arrested  and  gave 
bond  for  their  appearance  at  a  certain  day  before  the  magis- 
trate, and  forfeited  the  same  ;  and  instead  of  appearing  before 
the  magistrate,  Pritchett  went  to  Austin,  the  capital  of  the 
state,  and  reported  to  the  Governor.  Instead  of  sending 
Pritchett  back  to  stand  his  trial,  the  Governor  placed  about  one 
hundred  State  Guards  under  General  Davidson,  the  chief  of 
.state  police,  and  ordered  him  to  proceed  with  all  speed  to  Hill 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  TEXAS.  375 

Couuty.  Upon  the  arrival  of  Davidson  and  his  force  in 
Hill  County,  he  arrested  Colonel  Gathings,  and  placed  Lim  in 
the  court-house,  from  which  all  citizens  were  excluded,  aud  a 
heavy  guard  stationed  around  it.  General  Davidson  informed 
Colonel  Gathings  that  no  military  commission  would  be  con- 
vened to  try  him  if  he  would  pay  the  expenses  of  the  force, 
which  he  estimated  at  §500.00  per  day.  Upon  Colonel 
Gathings'  refusal  to  comply  w^ith  this  demand,  Davidson 
informed  him  that  he  would  declare  the  county  under  mar- 
tial law,  tax  the  county  to  support  the  troops,  organize  a 
court-martial  and  try  him,  and  if  convicted,  send  iiim  imme- 
diately to  the  penitentiary  without  the  right  of  appeal.  After 
this  Davidson  proposed  to  Gathings  to  settle  the  matter  for 
$3000.  Colonel  Gathings,  with  the  assistance  of  some 
friends,  paid  the  money. 

The  seventh  section  of  Article  I.  of  the  Constitution,  then 
in  force,  reads  as  follows,  viz.  : — 

"The  people  shall  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses,  papers 
and  possessions  from  all  unreasonable  seizures  or  searches, 
and  no  warrant  to  search  any  place,  or  to  seize  any  persQU  or 
thing,  shall  issue  without  describing  such  piace,  person  or 
thing,  as  near  as  they  may  be,  nor  without  probable  cause, 
supported  by  oath  or  affirmation." 

Davis  had  taken  his  solemn  oath  to  support  this  and  every 
other  provision  of  the  Constitution,  but  under  the  authority 
granted  him  by  the  Legislature,  he  deliberately  violated  it, 
not  only  in  the  case  of  Colonel  Gathings,  but  in  hundreds  of 
other  instances, 

A  narration  of  the  crimes  and  outrages  committed  by 
Governor  Davis  and  his  minions  would  fill  a  volume.  There 
was  an  election  for  members  of  Congress  in  Texas,  in  the 
month  of  October,  1871,  and  in  August  prior  to  this  election. 
Governor  Davis  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  people  of  Texas, 
wdiich,  as  a  manifestation  of  despotic  authority  and  for  brazen 
impudence,  is  without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  this,  and 
perhaps  of  any  other  state  in  the  Union.  The  proclamation 
reads  as  follows : — 

"All  persons  coming  to  vote  shall  deposit  their  votes  with 
the  least  possible  delay,  and  after  this  is  done  they  are  for- 


376  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

bidden,  under  any  pretext,  to  remain  about  the  polls,  or  at 
the  cGnnty  seat,  unless  this  h  their  rcsideneej  during  the  time  of 
eleclion,  but  shall  return  to  their  houses  and  usual  employment^ 
and  peace  officers.  State  Guards  or  militia  on  duty  at  the  polls 
shall  see  that  this  regulation  is  complied  with." 

The  Constitution  expressly  proliibited  the  arrest  of  electors 
during  their  attendance  at  elections,  and  in  going  to  and  re- 
turning from  the  same,  exccjJt  in  case  of  treason,  felony,  or 
breach  of  the  peace. 

But  what  cared  Davis  and  his  followers  for  the  Constititu- 
tion?  Undoubtedly  it  Avas  his  purpose  to  place  at  tlie  polls 
such  an  array  of  peace  officers.  State  Guards  and  state  police 
as  would  deter  many  Democrats  from  voting,  but  in  this  he 
did  not  succeed.  In  the  Third  Congressional  District,  W. 
T.  Clark  was  the  Republican  (candidate  for  Congress,  antl  D. 
C.  Giddings  was  his  Democratic  opponent.  Governor  Davis 
canvassed  the  district  in  behalf  of  Clark,  and  liis  speeches 
were  filled  with  vituj)eration  and  abuse  of  those  who  differed 
from  him  in  politics,  and  were  well  calculated  to  create 
trouble.  Every  kind  of  device  was  resorted  to,  to  inveigle 
Democrats  into  the  commission  of  some  act  by  which  they 
would  be  placed  in  a  false  and  disloyal  attitude. 

The  writer  remembers  to  have  seen  a  number  of  United 
States  flags  suspended  across  a  street,  and  hung  so  low  that  a 
man  of  ordinary  height  could  not  walk  under  them  without 
coming  in  contact  with  them,  and  it  was  well  understood  that 
they  were  thus  suspended  with  the  hope  that  some  indiscreet 
person  would  tear  one  or  more  of  them  down,  so  that  it 
mio-ht  be  flashed  over  the  wires  that  in  Texas  the  flao;  of  the 
Union  had  been  desecrated  and  trampled  under  foot.  But 
the  plan  did  not  succeed,  and  the  flags  remained  unmolested. 

At  one  time  Davis  placed  Walker  County  under  martial 
law,  and  to  defray  the  ex}:>ense3  of  the  military  force  that 
he  quartered  upon  that  county,  he  compelled  the  people 
thereof  to  pay  not  less  than  eight  thousand  dollars.  After- 
wards he  placed  Limestone  and  Freestone  Counties  under 
martial  law,  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  keep  the  vote  of 
those  counties  from  being  counted  for  Giddings,  the  Demo- 
cratic  candidate  for  Congress.      The   people  of   Limestone 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  TEXAS.  377 

County  were  compelled  to  pay  a  sum  of  thirty-six  thousand 
dollars — the  amount  of  a  tax  that  was  levied  upon  them  by  a 
military  order  issued  by  one  General  A.  G.  JNIaaloy,  who 
styled  himself  "Commander  of  the  State  Forces  in  Limestone 
County." 

The  Legislature  conferred  upon  the  Governor  the  power  to 
appoint  a  mayor,  and  other  officers  for  each  incorporated  city 
or  town  in  the  state.  Under  this  authority  Davis  placed 
"carpet-baggers,"  and  others  of  his  political  faith,  in  control 
of  the  municipal  governments,  in  a  number  of  cities  in  the 
state,  and  many  of  these  appointees  reaped  fortunes  from 
their  crookedness  in  office. 

Their  usual  plan  was  to  place  a  bonded  debt  upon  the  city 
or  town,  for  which  but  little,  if  any  consideration  was  received 
by  the  inhabitants  thereof;  but  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen 
became  rich,  and  the  people  were  burdened  with  increased 
taxation. 

In  one  city  of  not  more  than  ten  or  twelve  thousand  inhabi- 
tants, they  created  a  debt  of  one  and  one  half  millions  of  dol- 
lars, and  the  improvements  for  which  this  debt  was  incurred 
could  have  been  obtained  for  much  less  than  one-third  of  the 
amount  stated.  The  bonds  generally  carried  a  high  rate  of 
interest,  and  all  deficiencies  in  the  payment  of  matured  interest 
were  met  by  the  issuance  and  sale  of  new  bonds,  and  thus  from 
time  to  time  were  the  burdens  of  the  people  increased. 

Under  the  administration  of  Gov.  Throckmorton,  the  rate 
of  state  taxation  was  fifteen  cents  on  the  hundred  dollars,  and  the 
taxes  levied  by  the  counties  were  correspondingly  low,  but 
were  found  to  be  amply  sufficient  for  governmental  purposes. 
The  state  was  then  practically  out  of  debt,  and  had  a  balance 
in  the  treasury. 

Whatever  wrongs  had  been  perpetrated  by  the  military 
authorities  of  the  United  States  during  the  reconstruction 
period,  they  had  not  robbed  the  treasury,  or  imposed  onerous 
taxation  upon  the  people.  This  was  reserved  for  the  Davis 
administration.  From  1870  to  1874,  the  period  covered  by 
the  administration  of  Governor  Davis,  the  state  ad  valorem 
tax  alone  was  fifty  cents  on  the  one  hundred  dollars,  and 
this  was  augmented  by  special  state  and  county  taxes,  to  an 


378  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

amount  unparalleled  in  the  previous  or  subsequent  history  of 
Texas. 

Governor  Davis  in  his  message  to  the  Legislature,  speak- 
ing of  the  state  debt,  said  there  was  due  tlie  school  fund, 
|82,1 68.82,  and  due  the  university  fund,  §134,472.26,  and 
the  only  other  indebtedness  was  that  of  the  ten  per  cent, 
warrants.  This  amount,  he  stated,  was  not  considerable,  and 
further  said : 

"Texas  may  therefore,  substantially  be  said  to  be  out  of 
debt."  This  was  a  frank,  but  true  admission  made  by  the 
Governor  of  the  financial  condition  of  the  state  when  he  and 
his  party  came  into  power. 

On  December  1st,  1873,  the  Comptroller  in  the  Davis  ad- 
ministration, i\Ir.  A.  Bledsoe,  in  his  report  to  the  Governor, 
gives  the  state  debt  at  that  date  at  §1,797,884.16.  And 
when  his  administration  closed  he  left,  as  a  legacy  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Texas,  a  debt  that  amounted  to  §4,414,095.45. 

During  the  administration  of  Governor  Davis,  warrants 
upon  the  state  treasury  were  hawked  on  the  markets  at  forty- 
five  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  the  bonds  of  the  state  were  prac- 
tically valueless  in  the  home  and  foreign  markets.  The 
Davis  administration  made  large  promises  in  regard  to  the 
education  of  the  youth  of  the  state,  and  fulfilled  them  by  the 
creation  of  a  cumbersome  system  of  public  schools,  in  which 
a  vast  retinue  of  officers  absorbed  the  money  appropriated 
for  school  purposes  so  rapidly  as  to  prevent  the  schools  from 
being  taught  a  sufficient  length  of  time  to  do  any  good.  The 
children  of  the  state,  and  especially  the  colored  children, 
were  growing  up  in  ignorance,  values  were  not  appreciating, 
population  was  but  slowly  increasing,  the  state  was  rapidly 
becoming  bankrupt,  and  the  ruthless  exercise  of  arbitrary 
power  had  rendered  life,  liberty  and  property  insecure. 

Such  were  the  results  of  an  administration  of  public  affairs 
that  had  been  forced  upon  the  people  of  Texas  by  those  who 
had  been  placed  in  charge  of  reconstruction.  But  the  day  of 
deliverance  was  at  hand.  At  the  next  general  election  the 
people  swept  Davis  and  his  party  from  power,  and  elected 
for  state  officers  the  entire  Democratic  ticket.  In  both  houses 
of  the  Legislature  a  large  majority  of  Democrats  was  elected. 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  TEXAS.  379 

Kichard  Coke  was  ele(;tecl  Governor,  and  notwithstandino- 
the  immense  majority  of  votes  he  had  received,  Davis  would 
have  resisted  his  induction  into  office  if  he  could  have  been 
sustained  in  such  action  by  the  General  Government.  He 
vainly  appealed  to  General  Grant,  who  was  then  President  of 
the  United  States,  to  assist  him  in  his  proposed  usurpation  of 
power,  but  General  Grant  refused  to  give  him  aid,  and  Coke 
was  inaugurated  and  duly  installed  as  Governor  of  tlie  state. 
The  Democratic  party  has  had  continuous  control  of  public 
affairs  in  Texas  since  the  defeat  of  Davis,  and  now,  after 
fifteen  years  of  Democratic  government,  we  can  speak  with 
csrtainty  of  its  results. 

The  Democratic  Legislature,  elected  with  Governor  Coke, 
immediately  repealed  the  odious  laws  passed  during  the 
Davis  administration,  and  the  people  felt  that  they  were  once 
more  free.  State  Guards  and  state  police,  martial  law  and 
military  despotism,  have  become  things  of  the  past,  and  it  is 
sincerely  hoped  will  never  be  visited  upon  the  people  of 
Texas  again.  The  credit  of  the  state  has  been  restored. 
Within  a  few  months  after  the  inauguration  of  Governor 
Coke,  the  securities  of  the  state  commanded  from  ninety  to 
ninety-five  cents  on  Wall  Street,  and  afterwards  sold  for  one 
dollar  and  forty  cents,  and  at  this  time  rate  as  high  as  do 
the  securities  of  any  state  in  the  Union. 

The  bonded  debt  of  the  state  is  now  §4,237  730,  which  is 
all  owned  by  special  funds  of  the  state  except  §1,220,630. 
Taxation  has  been  largely  reduced.  The  state  ad  valorem 
revenue  tax  is  ten  cents  on  the  one  hundred  dollars,  and  the 
tax  for  the  support  of  the  public  schools  is  twelve  and  one- 
half  cents  on  the  one  hundred  dollars,  and  the  average  rate 
of  county  tax  is  forty-seven  cents  on  the  one  hundred  dollars. 
These  taxes  are  found  to  be  amply  sufficient  to  meet  the  ex- 
penses of  state  and  county  gov^ernment. 

Good  government  has  not  been  -sWthout  its  influence 
in  attracting  immigration.  The  census  reports  show  that  the 
population  of  Texas  in  1870  was  818,579 ;  that  it  had 
increased  in  1880  to  1,591,749,  and  there  is  little  doubt  but 
what  Texas  will  have  in  1890  a  population  of  not  less  than 
three  millions. 


380  VVIIY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Not  only  Immigration,  but  with  it  capital,  was  attracted  to 
our  state  and  sought  investment ;  and  enterprise  and  industry 
have  met  witii  their  just  reward.  Great  progress  has  been 
made  in  the  building^  of  railroads.  In  1870  there  was  in 
operation  in  Texas  only  711  miles  of  railway.  In  1888, 
there  had  been  constructed  and  was  in  operation,  8190  miles, 
and  now  there  cannot  be  much  less  than  9000  miles  of  rail- 
road in  operation  in  this  state. 

Public  education  has  not  been  neglected,  but  it  has  been 
fostered  and  largely  developed.  Normal  schools  for  the 
training  of  teachers,  both  white  and  colored,  have  been  estab- 
lished. A  state  university  richly  endowed  has  been  founded, 
and  is  now  in  successful  operation  ;  and  the  agricultural  and 
mechanical  college  of  the  state,  has  been  in  a  prosperous  con- 
dition for  a  number  of  years. 

AYhen  Texas  was  annexed  to,  and  became  a  part  of,  the 
United  States,  she  reserved  her  public  domain  ;  and  long 
before  the  war  between  the  states,  a  large  portion  of  it  was 
set  apart  for  the  maintenance  of  free  schools. 

A  ])art  of  these  lands  have  been  sold,  and  the  proceeds 
applied  to  the  public  school  fund  ;  but  there  yet  remains  about 
twenty-eight  millions  of  acres  belonging  to  the  public  schools. 
The  permanent  school  fund  now  holds  bonds  amounting  to 
$6,334,957,  and  Interest  bearing  notes  given  in  payment  for 
school  lands,  and  secured  by  liens  npon  said  lands  aggregat- 
ing $10,380,000,  the  annual  Interest  on  which,  together  with 
the  money  derived  from  land  leases,  amounted  last  year  to 
the  sum  of  $1,010,415.58.  And  this  amount  will  annually 
increase  for  years  to  come. 

In  addition  to  the  lands  belonging  to  the  state,  each  county 
in  the  state  owns  17,712  acres  of  land,  the  proceeds  of  which 
are  to  be  applied  exclusively  to  the  support  of  common 
schools. 

For  the  further  aM  of  free  schools,  a  tax  of  twelve  and 
one-half  cents  on  the  one  hundred  dollars  worth  of  property, 
and  a  poll  tax  of  one  dollar  on  every  male  inhabitant  of  the 
state  between  the  ages  of  twenty-one  and  sixty  years,  is  set 
apart  for  their  support,  and  each  community  has  the 
option  of  supplementing  the  state  funds  by  local  taxation. 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  TEXAS.  381 

Texas  annually  expends  about  $2,778,000  for  the  support  of 
public  free  schools.  Notwithstanding  the  negroes  own  but 
little  property  and  pay  scarcely  any  taxes — not  even  a  poll  tax 
— and  the  burden  of  sustaining  the  free  schools  is  borne  by 
the  white  population  almost  exclusively,  yet  in  the  disburse- 
ment of  the  school  funds  no  discrimination  is  made  against 
colored  children,  but  they  and  the  white  children  fare  alike. 

Complete  reports  were  not  made  to  the  Superintendent  of 
public  instruction  of  the  state  from  all  the  counties  last  year, 
but  from  what  were  made,  we  learn  that  during  the  year, 
364,744  children,  between  the  ages  of  eight  and  sixteen 
attended  the  free  schools,  of  which  number.  280,281  were 
wdiite,  and  84,463  were  colored  children.  Considering  the 
respective  number  of  w4iites  and  blacks  in  the  state,  this  is  a 
good  showing  for  the  colored  people. 

During  the  administration  of  E.  J.  Davis,  the  taxes  levied 
for  the  support  of  free  schools  for  one  year  were  many  times 
greater  than  the  annual  tax  levied  by  the  state  under  Demo- 
cratic rule,  and  more  school-houses  are  now  built  each  year, 
than  were  built  during  the  entire  period  of  the  Davis  admin- 
istration, while  the  schools  are  incomparably  better. 

The  white  people  of  Texas  believe  that  the  best  remedy 
for  all  the  evils  which  may  flow  from  ^^  universal  suffrage,'^ 
is  "  universal  education,'^  and  in  the  interests  of  good  gov- 
ernment, they  have  thought  proper  to  give  the  colored  people 
the  advantages  of  a  common,  school  education,  with  the  hope 
that  it  may  help  to  qualify  them  for  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  incumbent  upon  American  citizens. 

In  Texas  the  relations  between  the  white  and  colored  people 
have  always  been  amicable  and  peaceable.  In  a  few  localities 
in  the  state,  disturbances  have  occurred,  but  there  has  been 
no  serious  conflict  between  the  white  and  colored  races,  nor  is 
any  such  conflict  apprehended.  With  the  exception  of  the 
V/ashington  County  case  before  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  at  its  last  session,  (and  which  was  not  sustained  by 
evidence)  it  has  never  been  charged  that  in  Texas  colored 
men  have  been  prevented  from  voting  as  they  pleased  ;  nor 
has  it  been  alleged  that  their  votes  were  not  properly  counted. 

Texas  has  entered  upon  an  era  of  unexampled  prosperity. 


382  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Her  delightful  climate,  which  permits  outdoor  worK  in  every 
mouth  of  the  year,  and  her  cheap  and  productiv^e  lands,  to- 
getherwith  light  taxation  and  exceptional  educational  insti- 
tutions, have  attracted  white  immigrants  from  every  state  in 
the  Union,  as  well  as  from  Europe,  and  this  immigration  is 
increasing  so  rapidly,  that  with  us  the  negro  will  soon  fail  to 
excite  solicitude  upon  the  pare  of  any  political  party.  What 
we  want  in  Texas  is  to  be  let  alone  by  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment and  to  be  allowed  to  manage  our  local  affairs. 

Our  people  earnestly  hope  that  no  policy  will  be  adopted 
by  the  present  or  any  future  Administration  of  the  Federal 
Government  that  does  not  embrace  within  its  scope  the  whole 
country. 

We  have  had  enough  of  a  ^^ Southern  policy''  during  the 
"reconstruction  period,"  the  evils  of  which,  at  least  to  some 
extent,  I  have  endeavored  to  describe  in  this  paper.  We 
trust  that  the  people  of  no  section  of  the  United  States  will 
ever  again  be  willing  to  see  a  Government  of  any  of  the 
States  in  this  Union,  established  by  the  people  thereof,  sup- 
planted by  a  military  despotism. 

Chas.  Stewart. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

RECONSTRUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA. 
I.     INTRODUCTORY. 

rpHE  loss  of  Lincoln  was  a  calamity  to  the  South  second 
JL  only  to  the  war.  But  for  that  sad  event,  the  States, 
with  their  autonomy,  would,  in  fact  and  law,  have  con- 
tinued self-government  in  union,  on  the  line  that  he  had 
marked,  and  the  horrors  of  reconstruction  Avould  have  been 
avoided. 

Providentially,  the  leadership  of  the  dominant  political 
party  was  then  in  the  hands  of  Lincoln,  Seward,  Chase,  and 
such  like,  the  former  holding  the  executive  power  and  the 
supreme  command  and  direction  of  all  federal  forces,  with 
the  entire  military  and  executive  duty  and  responsibility  im- 
posed upon  him,  by  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  passed  in 
pursuance  of  it,  of  closing  the  war,  establishing  peace,  and 
securing  the  fruits  of  victory  ;  the  most  important  of  these 
being  to  restore  the  Union,  which  in  constitution  and  in 
nature,  could  but  be,  at  any  given  time,  as  Article  I.  phrases  it, 
''the  several  states  which  may  be  included  within  this  union." 
There  was  actually  no  opening  for  any  reconstruction  that 
was  not  unlawful  and  revolutionary ;  and,  indeed,  there  was 
nothing  to  reconstruct ;  the  states  were  complete,  and  the 
"union"  ''included"  them  all.  This  absolute  truth,  the 
Government  declared  and  proclaimed  as  a  fact  accomplished 
— a  truth — under  the  seal  of  the  United  States,  on  April  2d, 
1866. 

What  "Course'^  did  Congress  Marhf 

*"  The  answer  is  gravely  important.  In  July,  1861,  Con- 
gress resolved,  (every  Republican,  in  the  House  but  two,  and 
all  in  the  Senate  but  one,  voting  yes),  that  this  war  is  not 

383 


384  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

waged  in  *'a  spirit  of  oppression,  or  for  conquest  or  subjuga- 
tion, .  .  .  but  to  defend  and  maintain  the  supremacy  of 
the  Constitution,  and  to  preserve  the  Union,  with  all  the  dig- 
nity, equality,  and  rights  of  the  several  states  unimpaired  ; 
and  that,  as  soon  as  these  objects  are  attained  the  war  ought 
to  cease/' 

What  was  then  the  Actual  Situation, 

according  to  the  Constitution  and  laws?  Congress  had 
always  treated  secession  as  a  nullity  and  as  rebellion,  and  had 
pledged  its  faith  that  the  war  was  purposed  only  to  save  the 
Union,  and  was  not  for  oppression,  conquest  or  subjugation. 

Lincoln  had,  throughout  the  war,  held  secession  to  be  null, 
and  the  states  to  be  in  the  Union,  but  acting  rebel liously. 

Johnson,  as  history  shows,  ^'took  the  position  that  a  state 
could  not  secede,  and  that,  therefore,  none  of  the  Southern 
States  had  ever  been  really  out  of  the  Union.'' 

And,  finally,  the  Supreme  Federal  Court  settled  the  matter 
forever,  in  never-varying  wisdom  and  justice,  in  the  cases  of 
Texas  v.  White  (7  Wall.,  700),  White  v.  Hart  (13  Wall.,  651), 
United  States  v.  Ins.  Co.  (22  Wall.,  99),  Keith  v.  Clark  (97 
U.  S.,  454),  and  many  others,  holding  the  nullifi/  of  seccssiony 
the  continuance  of  the  Union  during  the  war,  the  indestructi- 
bility of  the  states,  and  the  validity  of  all  their  acts  during 
the  war  which  were  not  hostile  to  the  Union  or  conflicting 
with  the  Constitution.  And  in  22  Wallace,  99,  they  cite  the 
above  cases  and  others,  and  say:  "After  these  emphatic 
utterances,  controversy  on  this  subject  should  cease." 

When  the  laying  down  of  arms  was  completed,  the  dawn 
which  had  cheered  the  close  of  Lincoln's  life  had  become  the 
full  day  of  peace ;  the  Confederates  had  surrendered  and  been 
paroled.  They  were  to  go  home,  obey  the  laws  there,  pursue 
the  arts  of  peace,  keep  their  ])arole,  and  wage  war  no  more. 
Habituated  to  institutional  liberty,  and  relying  on  the  good 
faith  and  magnanimity  of  the  victors,  the  subdued  states  and 
their  citizens  went  to  work  earnestly  and  honorably,  in  grad- 
ually restoring  order,. law  and  justice;  and  they  ever  after- 
wards adhered  to  the  terms  and  obeyed  them,  without  any 
attempt  at  evasion  or  murmur  of  discontent;  and  neither 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  385 

their  good  faith,  nor  their  obedience  to  the  "supreme  law'' 
was  ever  impugned. 

Look  Now  at  the  Terms  and  Conditions. 

1.  Lay  down  your  arms  and  submit  to  the  Constitution. 

2.  Resume  your  action  in  the  Union,  observe  its  require- 
ments, and  abandon  secession  as  a  remedy  under  it. 

3.  Abolish  slavery. 

4.  Agree  to  the  sacredness  of  the  Federal  war  debt,  and 
the  nullity  of  the  Confederate  one. 

History  shows  that  these  terms  were  fully  complied  with  ; 
and  that  the  unity  called  "  the  Government,"  representing  the 
United  States,  so  declared  on  the  second  of  April,  1866. 
'^The  United  States,"  an  association  of  equals,  had  resumed 
business,  and  Congress  was,  at  best,  its  agent,  with  ^'defined 
duties"  and  '^designated  objects  of  attention,"  (to  use  the 
very  words  of  Washington,  on  this  subject,  in  his  first  inaug- 
ural), to  which  "duties"  and  "objects"  every  Congressman 
had  sworn  to  confine  himself. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States  is  a  unit;  Congress 
acts  and  binds  it ;  so  does  the  executive,  and  so  does  the 
judiciary — each  in  its  sphere.  The  executive  holds  the  seal 
of  the  United  Stales ;  and  by  affixing  it,  and  promulgating 
the  act,  it  binds  the  whole  Government,  and  makes  any 
attempt  of  Congress  to  undo  or  frustrate  the  same,  unconsti- 
tutional, if  not  revolutionary. 

II.      STEPS   FROM   WAR   TO   PEACE. 

After  the  Confederate  arms  were  laid  down,  the  triune 
personality  called  "  the  Government  of  the  United  States," 
took  many  steps  in  the  establishment  of  peaceful  conditions, 
beginning  early  in  1865,  and  ending  in  what  may  be  called 
dejure  peace — that  of  April  2,  1866 — all  being  done  with  the 
universal  wish  of  the  people.  De  facto  peace  had  been  enjoyed 
for  nearly  a  year,  with  its  increasing  order,  industry,  prosperity 
and  content ;  and  it  had  convinced  every  mind,  and  made 
every  heart  feel,  not  only  that  "  the  Southern  people  could  be 
trusted,"  but  that  they  were  as  fit  as  ever  for  liberty  and  self- 

25 


386  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

rule  ;  and,  moreover,  that  it  was  the  solemn  and  pressing  duty 
of  the  Federal  autliorities  to  permit  the  people  themselves,  at 
once  to  enjoy  and  protect  their  ov/n  "  blessings  of  liberty  ''^ — 
these  being  the  very  raison  d'etre  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 
Lincoln  evidently  had  no  intent  of  taking  hold  of  states,  al'ter 
military  necessity  had  passed.  His  wise,  patriotic,  simple, 
common-sense  policy  was  to  restore  relations  and  functions. 

Passing  by  Lincoln's  civil  establishments  made  under,  and 
in  aid  of,  iiis  military  authority,  and  within  his  military  lines, 
he  may  be  said  to  have  made  his  first  step  on  his  restoration 
])lan  in  February,  18G4 — the  plan  itself  having  been  stated 
fully  in  his  proclamation  of  December  8,  1863.  His  sugges- 
tion and  promise  therein  to  the  subdued  part  of  Louisiana, 
Avas,  in  general  terms,  that  if  10  per  cent,  of  the  state  would 
elect  and  hold  a  state  convention  and  form  a  constitution, 
he  would  recognize  them  as  the  state,  and  consider  the  other 
citizens  as  still  enemies.  This  was,  of  course,  a  legitimate  war 
measure,  effective  o\\\y,  flagrante  bcllo,  being  only  provisional, 
and  to  last  till  Louisiana,  (the  old  political  personality,  inde- 
structible except  under  Thor's  hammei:),  should  "come  to  her 
own."  Under  executive  and  military  instructions  from  the 
commander-in-chief,  Gen.  Shepley  ordered  an  election  for 
Governor,  etc.,  and  members  of  a  convention.  A  book  in 
the  Secretary  of  State's  office  gives  "a  record  of  the  acts  of 
the  Governor  Michael  Hahn;"  and  "returns  of  election  made 
by  Gen.  Sheplev,  Military  Governor  of  Louisiana,  February 
22nd,  1864:  '  Hahn,  6,158;  Fellows,  2,720;  Flanders, 
1,847;  total  vote,  10,725."  The  convention  sat  in  the 
spring  of  1864;  contained  no  representative  Louisianian, 
i.  e.  no  one  whom  the  people  generally  would  trust.  The 
popular  vote  is  entered  in  that  book  thus:  "September  19th, 
1864,  for  the  Constitution,  6,836;  against,  1,566."  This 
record  is  probably  correct,  and  the  statement  of  a  vote  of 
12,000,  false. 

The  Legislature,  under  the  said  Constitution,  adopted  the 
13th  amendment,  abolishing  slavery,  and  the  Government,  on 
December  18,  1865,  proclaimed  its  adoption,  naming  Louisi- 
ana, Alabama,  Georgia,  North  and  South  Carolina  and  Ar- 
kansas among  the  ratifiers. 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  387 

Now  let  us  note  the  striking  and  special  interest  taken  by 
Mr.  Lincoln  in  the  restoration  of  Louisiana.  To  a  committee, 
June  19,  1863,  he  wrote:  ^^The  people  of  Louisiana  shall 
not  lack  an  opportunity  for  a  fair  election  of  both  Federal 
and  State  officers,  by  want  of  anything  within  my  power  to 
give  thera.'' 

Idem  sonans  with  this,  were  the  steps  above  mentioned ; 
and  Gov.  Hahn's  message — probably  inspired  by  Lincoln — 
to  the  10  per  cent.  Legislature,  contained  the  following: 

The  Constitution  "provides  wisely  that  our  terms  shall  ex- 
pire at  an  early  day,  in  case  of  the  restoration  of  peace  in  the 
whole  state;  and  it  is  made  my  duty,  as  soon  as  an  election 
can  be  '  held  in  every  parish  in  the  state,^  to  declare  the  fact, 
and  order  a  new  election.  I  need  hardly  tell  you  that  I  shall 
have  real  pleasure  when  this  event  shall  be  at  hand;"  and  he 
winds  up  by  hoping  that  "the  whole  people  will  soon  exer- 
cise the  right  to  elect  state  officers." 

The  basal  idea  of  these  men  was  the  same  as  we  shall  ste 
that  Johnson  held,  viz:  that  ^Hhe  people  of  the  South  must  be 
trusted.'^ 

Two  facts  should  come  in  here  to  showLincoln's  full  confi- 
dence in  Hahn,  while  they  further  indicated  his  nature,  and 
his  wise  and  kind  policy  towards  Louisiana.  In  the  message 
just  quoted,  Hahn  says  :  "  The  President  invested  me,  with- 
out solicitation  or  suggestion  on  my  part,  with  the  power 
exercised  hitherto  by  the  military  Governor  of  Louisiana." 

In  a  letter  to  him  dated  March  13,  1864,  Lincoln  writes: 
"  Now  you  are  about  to  have  a  convention,  which,  among 
other  things,  will  define  the  elective  franchise,  I  barely  sug- 
gest for  your  private  consideration,  whether  some  of  the  col- 
lored  people  may  not  be  let  in — as,  for  instance,  the  veiy 
intelligent.  .  .  .  But  this  is  only  a  suggestion,  not  to  the 
public,  but  to  you  alone." 

The  writer  will  merely  say  here,  that  both  of  these  men 
recognized  the  people's  natural  and  Constitutional  7'ight  of 
self-rule;  their  fitness  for  it;  and  the  duty  in  the  premises 
of  "  trusting  the  Southern  people/^  with  all  their  future  polit- 
ical problems. 


388  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

The  terms  of  Surrender  and  Parole 

accorded  to  Louisianians  at  Lee  and  eTohnston's  surrenders, 
were  the  same  as  those  granted  at  Kirby  Smith's,  which  will 
here  be  quoted  :  "  Shreveport,  May  26,  18G5.  The  officers 
and  men  paroled  under  this  agreement,  will  be  allowed  to 
return  to  their  homes,  with  the  assurance  that  they  will  not 
be  disturbed  by  the  authorities  of  tJie  United  States,  as  long  as 
they  continue  to  observe  the  conditions  of  their  parole,  and  the 
laws  in  force  where  they  reside.^' 

The  jus  gentium  and  the  laws  of  civilized  war  were  thus 
added  to  the  ^'  supreme  law  of  the  land/^  and  to  the  goodness 
of  the  executive  heart  and  intent,  as  assurances  of  protec- 
tion to  the  sorely  stricken  commonwealth.  And  one  of 
Grant's  greatest  glories  was,  his  true  chivalric  faith  and  mag- 
nanimity, in  earnestly  insisting  on  the  sacredness  of  the  terms 
of  surrender  and  parole. 

Tlie  promised  General  Election. 

According  to  the  intent  and  promises  above  mentioned,  a 
general  election  was  called  in  the  fall  of  1865^  the  Legislature 
of  which  met  November  23d,  and  fully  and  fitly  represented 
Louisiana. 

The  first  notable  act  of  the  real  state,  her  sober  second 
thought  and  her  pledge  of  sacred  faith,  was  the  following  sin- 
cere and  solemn  act  of  December  6,  1865  : 

JOINT   RESOLUTIONS   RELATIVE  TO   FEDERAL  RELATIONS. 

Whereas^  It  is  eminently  proper,  both  to  our  constituents  and  the  Gov- 
ernment, that  the  Representative  body,  fresh  from  the  people  of  the  whole 
state,  the  first  that  has  assembled  in  Louisiana  since  the  surrender,  should 
give  a  pul)lic  and  unmistakable  expression  of  sentiment  in  regard  to  the 
situation,  therefore, 

1.  Be  it  resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
state  of  Louisiana  in  General  Assembly  convened,  That  there  is  no  spirit 
of  resistance  to  Federal  authority  among  the  people  of  Louisiana ;  that 
they  frankly  avowed  their  purpose  and  object  in  the  late  struggle  for  sepa- 
rate government,  and  having  failed  in  that,  they  now,  with  equal  frank- 
ness, accept,  as  the  inevitable  result,  the  present  mtuation,  including  the 
abolition  of  slavery,  the  re-establisment  of  which  they  do  not  expect. 

2.  Be  it  further  resolved,  etc.  That,  in  the  expression  that  '^  the  Southern 
'people  must  be  trusted,"  President  Johnson  exhibited  a  thorough  acquaint- 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  389 

ance  with  Southern  character,  and  eminent  wisdom  and  statesmanship  • 
and  that  it  is  our  firm  resolve  to  justify  this  coniidence,  and  to  sustain  the 
President  in  his  efforts  to  restore  these  states  to  representation  in  Congress 
and  a  position  of  poliiical  equality  in  the  Union. 

3.  Be  it  further  resolved,  etc.,  That  the  people  of  Louisiana  are  unre- 
served in  their  purpose  of  loyalty  ;  and,  if  permitted,  that,  to  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  and  the  Union  of  the  states  thereunder,  do  they  now 
look  for  their  future  political  happiness  and  prosperity. 

Duncan  S.  Cage,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
Albert  Voorhies,  Lieutenant  Governor  and  President  of  Senate. 

Approved  Dec.  6,  1865. 

J.  Madison  Wells,  Governor  of  the  state  of  Louisiana. 

Louisiana  thus  fully  expressed  lier  will  and  wish.  She 
surrendered  ^^  under  this  agreement ''  (siqyra)  in  good  faith. 
She  wanted  peace,  order,  law  and  self-rule.  She  stipulated 
for  them  ;  received  the  pledge  of  them  ;  went  home  to  enjoy 
them  ;  and  took  never  a  backward  step  !  Her  sincerity  has 
never  been  impugned ! 

III.   THE   RIOT   OF   JULY,    1866. 

The  Southern  people  being  "  remitted  to  the  laws  as  they 
then  existed  '' — to  use  the  phrase  of  General  Sherman,  as  to 
the  Sherman-Johnston  agreement — had  gone  to  work  in  their 
respective  communities,  in  business,  civil  and  political  affairs. 
Their  panoply  was,  not  only  the  constitution  as  a  law,  and 
the  royal  faith  of  its  parties,  but  the  moral  force  of  the  jus 
gentium  and  the  laws  of  war.  According  to  "  the  agree- 
ment '^  of  surrender  and  parole,  they  were  "  to  return  to  their 
homes,  toith  the  assurance  that  they  would  not  be  disturbed 

BY  the  AUTHORITIES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  as  long  CLS  they 

continued  to  observe  the  conditions  of  their  parole,  and 
THE  LAWS  IN  FORCE  lohere  they  reside.'^ 

The  Lmvs  in  Force. 

Was  not  the  federal  constitution  then  "  in  force  ?  ^'  also  the 
laws  under  it  ?  also  the  state  constitutions,  and  the  laws  there- 
under ?  also  the  municipal  corporations,  and  their  ordinances? 
were  not  these  laws  all  "  in  force?  "  If  not,  when,  how,  and, 
for  what  part,  were  they  repealed  ?     Inter  arma  silent  leges ; 


390  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

but  when  "surrender"  and  "parole"  were  agreed  on,  and 
peace  was  declared,  they  were  silent  no  longer.  The  only  laws 
that  could  be  thought  to  repeal  or  conflict  with  any  of  them, 
were  the  war-laws  heretofore  mentioned,  which  were  provis- 
ional and  temporary,  and  were  so  considered  by  Lincoln,  and 
later,  even  by  Sheridan  ;  and  were  finally  held  to  be  so  by  the 
Courts.  The  truth  is  "  the  laws  in  force,"  lying  at  the  basis 
of  every  thing — the  vital  and  all-compreliensive  laws — were 
the  law  of  each  state's  being,  and  the  law  of  self-govern- 
ment. 

The  soldiers  of  Louisiana  were  as  faithful  to  their  parole, 
as  they  had  been  brave  in  the  armies  of  Lee,  Johnston  and 
Kirby  Smith.  In  good  faith  they  went  home  to  the  self- 
rule,  self-help  and  self-cure,  to  which  they  were  habituated. 
Lincoln's  plain,  practical  and  homely  utterances  had  impressed 
them  with  his  conservative  wisdom  and  benevolent  heart ; 
and  they  were  pursuing  the  course  which  he  had  marked  out. 
Governor  Hahn,  acting  probably  under  Lincoln's  advice,  pro- 
mised an  election,  in  which  the  whole  people  of  the  state 
should  participate.  This  was  held,  and  the  new  Legislature 
met  on  November  23,  1865.  Peace  reigned  from  shore  to 
shore ;  and  "  the  laws  in  force,"  referred  to  in  the  parole, 
superseded  absolutely  the  war-laws  and  orders,  especially  as 
these  were  at  best  intended  as  provisional  and  temporary. 
Cessante  ratione  cessat  lex.  The  common-sense  view  seems  to 
be  this,  that  in  returning  to  self-government,  the  people  were 
like  farmers,  mechanics,  merchants  and  manufactureis, 
who  had  been  absent  for  a  while  from  their  flirms  and  shops, 
which  they  were  returning  to  repossess  and  work.  They 
went  out  to  fight ;  got  whipped,  and  went  back  to  business. 
Peace,  industry  and  restoration  were  their  chief,  if  not  only 
ideas.  The  conquering,  party  simply  required  them  to  go  to 
their  homes  and  institutions,  and  do  as  they  had  always  done, 
in  exercising  their  rights.  They  found  at  home  the  unchanged 
body-politic;  their  constitution  still  stood,  as  did  their  state 
and  municipal  laws ;  and  of  course  in  returning  to  their  nor- 
mal condition,  they  began  their  political  as  well  as  their 
private  business.  Their  Legislature,  elected  in  the  fall  of 
1865^  was  chosen  on  Lincoln's  plan,  under  full  Federal  cog- 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  391 

nizance,  was  composed  of  their  best  men,  and  was  the  leo-iti- 
mate  offspring  of  Louisiana's  will. 

Hence,  it  was  under  the  express  command  and  sanction  of 
the  United  States,  that  they  went  back  to  heir  business  of 
self-government,  the  machinery  of  which  they  had  themselves 
made  and  worked,  and  which  was  still  in  existence  and  oper- 
ation, though  perhaps  not  in  full  repair  and  efficiency.  But 
they  owned  it ;  and  their  state  organic  law,  their  statutes  and 
municipal  institutions,  all  under  the  federal  compact,  were  the 
actual  ''  laws  in  force  where  they  resided'^  '^h^J?  therefore, 
could  but  rely  with  full  faith  on  the  '^  assurance  ^^  of  the 
government,  so  solemnly  given  as  heretofore  cited. 

AVhile  in  this  condition,  a  gang  of  political  gypsies,  dis- 
reputable native  whites,  and  negro  leaders,  were  secretly 
making  a  new  Constitution  for  the  state,  pretending  to  act  as 
the  adjourned  convention  of  1864 — a  war  convention,  which 
had  been  held  on  Mr.  Lincoln's  ten  per  cent,  plan,  heretofore 
stated — had  finished  its  work  and  submitted  its  plan  of  a 
Constitution,  which  the  people  had  adopted  :  and  it  had  ad- 
journed sine  die. 

The  people  became  anxious  and  unhappy;  their  anxiety 
was  intensified  by  the  fear  that  Congress  favored  the  scheme 
of  radical  rrconstrudion,  i.  e.,  revolution,  instead  of  Lincoln^s 
benign  restoration.  About  that  time,  it  leaked  out  that  some 
unlawful  or  revolutionary  scheme,  like  the  forming  of  a  new 
Constitution,  was  on  foot.  When  it  transpired,  the  great 
Louisiana  jurist.  Christian  Roselius,  who  had  stood  for  the 
Union  and  against  seceding,  in  the  Convention  of  1861,  and 
through  the  war,  said,  that  ^^  every  participant  in  the  treason- 
able scheme  should  be  arrested  and  sent  to  jail."  The  authori- 
ties then  attempted  to  suppress  the  assembly  as  illegal.  The 
collision  of  July  30th,  1866,  was  the  result.  So  secret  was 
the  conspiracy,  that  it  had  actually  matured  a  Constitution, 
which  was  signed  by  the  members,  printed  and  promul- 
gated, and  copies  were  offered  for  sale  by  Bloomfield,  Steel  & 
Co.,  before  the  public  or  authorities  knew  of  it  as  a  thing  in 
esse — so  far  as  the  writer  can  learn. 

Was  not  that  riot,  with  the  bloodshed  of  that  sad  affair,  the 
direct  result  of  the  bad  faith  of  the  Government,  or,  to  be 


392  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

more  specific — of  the  Congress?  As  to  whether  the  whites 
or  the  blacks  were  responsible  for  the  opening  attacks,  the 
Re})ublican  private  secretary  of  the  Republican  Governor 
testified  that,  *^at  the  outset,  the  negroes  were,  in  every  in- 
stance, the  instigators  of  the  riot  ;'^  and  that  he  "  was  an  eye- 
witness of  the  whole  aifair."  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  flagrant 
perfidy  and  tyranny  that  Avere  then  threatened,  of  remitting 
the  people  to  their  homes,  home-law  and  home-rule,  i.  e.,  self- 
government,  and  then,  despite  the  "j)arole"  and  "assurance" 
stated,  subjecting  them,  while  in  ])rofound  peace  and  perfect 
obedience,  to  military  domination,  martial  law,  and  trials  at 
the  drum-head — for  such  was  the  menace — must  have  stirred 
society  in  all  its  depths,  set  in  motion  the  imj)ulsive,  reckless 
and  desperate  elements,  while  relegating  the  conservative  and 
proprietary  forces,  which,  in  quiet  times,  always  rule,  to  timid 
inaction,^and  even  hiding  away.  Congress,  in  its  tyranny  and 
extravagance,  should  heed  the  lesson.  All  history  shows 
that  when  society  is  thus  agitated  and  oppressed,  the  wealthy 
and  well-to-do  classes — if  not  beneficiaries — are  most  impa- 
tient and  least  forbearing.  It  is  they  who  are  most  prone  to 
send  up,  as  of  old,  the  earnest  cry :  ''Give  us  a  king!"  and 
it  is  they  who  can  best  aid  him  in  getting  and  keeping  his 
crown  ! 

The  reconstruction  laws  ended,  for  many  millions  of  Ameri- 
cans, their  two  years  of  profound  peace,  wonderful  recupera- 
tion, high  hopes  and  cheering  prospects.  The  Government 
had  fully  punished  them  by  war,  had  received  their  surrender, 
and  given  them  paroles  and  solemn  assurances  of  peace  and 
freedom  from  Federal  disturbance ;  but  it  proceeded,  not- 
withstanding, to  pour  out  a  second  "vial  of  wrath  !"  "Hell 
followed "  for  ten  years ! 

IV.     MILITARY   GOVEENMENT   IN    PEACE. 

By  the  Act  of  Congress  passed  March  2nd,  1867,  and  sup- 
plemented March  23rd,  the  Southern  States  were  placed 
under  military  government,  Louisiana  and  Texas  constitut- 
ing ihe  Fifth  Military  District.  Military  interference  hence- 
forth was  frequent  and  aggravating.      The  laws  passed  by 


EECOXSTRUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  393 

the  City  Council  of  New  Orleans,  requiring  the  police  to  be 
residents  of  the  city  for  five  years,  were  vetoed  and  v/iped 
out  by  the  military  commander,  because  they  prevented,  he 
said,  the  appohitment  of  ex-Union  soldiers  on  the  force.  An 
election  for  city  officers  having  been  fixed  for  March  11th, 
1867,  it  was  postponed  by  General  Sheridan,  who  assumed 
command  of  the  district,  without  warrant  of  law,  because,  as 
he  stated,  no  officer  had  been  appointed  under  the  law,  and 
he  thought  it  necessary  for  him  to  act  as  to  the  holding  of 
this  election,  until  ^'  special  instructions  covering  the  case  are 
received." 

The  writer  deems  it  proper  here  to  say,  that  the  violations 
of  the  princi})les  of  institutional  liberty  shown  in  these  pages, 
are  attributed  to  Congress,  and  not  to  General  Sheridan, 
whose  merits  as  a  soldier  are  known  and  confessed  by  all 
men,  and  who  could  but  obey  orders  and  do  the  duties  as- 
signed. 

On  March  27th,  1867,  he  began  removing  the  state  and 
other  officials  previously  elected,  and  appointing  their  suc- 
cessors, whom  he  judged  more  fit  for  the  places.  The  first 
was  Andrew  S.  Herron,  Attorney-General  of  the  State,  and 
afterwards  a  member  of  Congress.  John  T.  Monroe,  Mayor 
of  New  Orleans,  Edmund  Abell,  Judge  of  the  Criminal 
Court,  and  others,  were  similarly  ousted. 

In  April,  General  Sheridan  appointed  the  Board  of  Regis- 
tration, to  whom  was  given  full  and  complete  control  of  all 
the  registration  and  election  machinery  of  the  state. 

It  will  be  seen  that  he  was  complete  dictator  of  the  Fifth 
District  in  a  sense  never  known  before  in  America.  He  had 
absolute  control  of  all  the  offices,  with  power  of  removal  and 
appointment;  he  could  annul  or  change  any  laws  which  did 
not  meet  his  favor;  and  with  his  control  of  the  election  and 
registration  machinery,  he  could  elect  any  persons  he  chose. 

The  power  of  removal  and  appointment  was  fully  exer- 
cised by  him,  even  in  cases  in  which  politics  played  little 
part,  his  obvious  and  avowed  intention  being  to  remove  ob- 
stacles to  reconstruction,  and  to  place  Louisiana  wholly  under 
the  control  of  men  who  agreed  with  him  as  to  the  manner^  in 
which  the  state  should  be  ruled.     The  new  Mayor  of  New 


394  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Orleans — Heath,  his  appointee — was  ordered  to  re-organize 
the  police  force,  so  that  at  least  half  of  its  members  should 
be  ex-Federal  soldiers;  and  the  Levee  Commissioners — a 
body  wholly  non-political,  and  representing  the  planters  and 
owners  of  property  fronting  on  the  Mississippi,  protected  by 
levees  from  overflow — were  removed,  and  men  more  in  sym- 
pathy and  accord  with  his  views  were  appointed  in  their 
stead.  In  this  matter  alone,  did  tlie  general  finally  recede. 
He  had  dismissed  from  these  important  offices  men  fully 
acquainted  with  the  levee  system  of  the  state, — men  who  rep- 
sen  ted  the  j)lanters  and  farmers  paying  the  levee  taxes,  and 
who  were  skilled  and  efficient  in  their  duties.  After  trying 
his  new  board  three  months,  finding  the  state  threatened  by 
overflow  from  the  June  rise,  he  receded  from  his  position, 
dismissed  his  own  appointees,  and  reinstated  the  old  board. 

He,  before  he  had  been  in  command  very  long,  removed 
the  Gavcrnor  of  the  state,  the  Street  Commissioner  of  the 
citv,  and  numerous  others.  At  the  same  time,  he  interfered 
with  the  District  Courts  in  the  matter  of  issuing  naturaliza- 
tion papers,  exi)ressing  the  opinion  that  too  many  were  being 
issued.  A  final  order,  just  previous  to  the  election  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Constitutional  Convention,  prohibited  the  assem- 
bling of  men,  in  certain  parishes  of  Louisiana,  for  j)olitical 
purposes. 

Such  were  the  conditions  under  which,  on  September  27th 
and  28th,  1867,  an  election  was  held  in  Louisiana  for  dele- 
gates to  a  convention  that  was  to  frame  a  new  Constitution 
for  the  state.  With  nearly  all  the  state  and  city  officials  re- 
moved, and  men  appointed  in  their  places  by  the  Military 
Commander;  with  the  laws  suspended,  and  public  meetings 
prohibited  ;  with  jurisdiction  over  the  naturalization,  regis- 
tration and  election  laws  in  his  hands,  the  election  was  placed 
wholly  under  his  control.  Not  even  after  the  result  was 
known,  did  the  removals  cease;  for  the  sheriff  of  Orleans 
Parish  was  ousted  November  16th,  and  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  a  few  days  afterwards. 

The  appointment  of  General  Winfield  S.  Hancock  to  the 
command  of  the  Fifth  Military  District,  November  29,  1867, 
stopped  all  these  military  interferences  in  purely  civil  mat- 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.      '  095 

ters.  In  an  order  issued  December  5th,  General  Hancock 
gave  the  true  and  proper  scope  and  use  of  military  power. 
He  declared  that  justice  in  the  criminal  courts  had  been 
clogged  and  frustrated  by  former  military  orders  in  regard 
to  jurors,  and  he  announced  that,  in  future,  trial  by  jurv, 
habeas  corjms,  liberty  of  the  press  aud  freedom  of  speech 
would  be  preserved,  and  not  interfered  with  by  the  military 
authorities. 

In  another  order,  touching  on  the  frequent  differences  be- 
tween the  civil  and  military  authorities,  he  laid  down  this 
doctrine:  "The  administration  of  civil  justice  appertains  to 
the  civil  courts.  The  rights  of  litigants  do  not  depend  on 
the  views  of  the  general  commanding  this  district;  they  are 
to  be  adjudged  and  settled  according  to  the  laws.  Arbitrary 
power,  such  as  the  General  has  been  urged  to  assume,  has  no 
existence  in  this  country.'^ 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  so  self-evident  a  proposi- 
tion as  this  could  be  denied,  or  a  contrary  doctrine  be  insisted 
on  and  carried  out,  by  General  Hancock's  predecessor. 

S.  B.  Packard,  afterwards  United  States  Marshal,  and 
claimant  to  the  office  of  Governor  of  Louisiana  in  1876,  was 
president  of  the  Board  of  Registration  at  the  time  of  the  vote 
on  the  convention,  and  became  engaged  in  a  controv^ersy  with 
General  Hancock,  which  resulted  in  his  arrest.  The  military 
power,  as  represented  by  General  Hancock,  was  not  progres- 
sive, arbitrary  and  tyrannical  enough  to  suit  the  views  of 
those  who  understood  the  reconstruction  acts  and  military 
rule  to  be  simply  for  the  purpose  of  placing  the  Republican 
party,  backed  by  the  negro  vote,  in  control  of  the  state. 

The  reo^istration  which  had  been  carried  on  under  the 
board  appointed  by  Sheridan,  and  over  which  Packard  pre- 
sided, was  wholly  in  the  interest  of  the  Republicans,  and  was 
so  intended  to  be.  All  those  citizens  who,  during  the  war, 
had  held  any  civil  offices  under  the  Confederate  States,  were 
disfranchised ;  naturalization  papers  were  disjnited  and  re- 
fused, aud  white  voters  denied  registration.  The  result  was 
to  reduce  the  white  registration  of  the  state  to  45,218,  or 
barely  two-thirds  of  what  it  ought  to  have  been  ;  while  the 
negro  registration,  by  false  personation  and  repeated  enrol- 


396  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

ment,  was  made  to  be  84,436,  or  one  voter  to  every  four  of 
the  colored  po})ulation.  In  New  Orleans  the  50,456  negroes 
registered  15,020  votes,  while  of  the  140,983  whites,  only 
14,890  were  registered.  Though  the  white  population  was 
nearly  three  to  one,  the  negi'ocs  were  registered  in  a  ma- 
jority. 

The  election  which  followed  under  these  conditions,  April 
17th  and  18th,  1868,  was  an  easy  and  overwhelming  victory 
for  the  party  (Republican)  which  Congress,  by  its  reconstruc- 
tion legislation  and  its  military  interference,  had  intended 
should  be  placed  in  control  of  Louisiana. 

The  election  of  April,  1868,  brought  an  entirely  new  set 
of  men  to  the  front  in  Louisiana — men  who  had  never  been 
heard  of  before — men  who  had  had  no  experience  whatever 
in  public  affairs,  and  many  of  whom  were  not  citizens,  and 
had  lived  in  the  state  but  a  very  short  time.  In  the  Senate, 
there  were  but  half  a  dozen  members  of  the  white  race,  in 
whose  hands  the  government  had  wholly  been  during  all  the 
time  that  Louisiana  had  been  a  state,  and  but  comparatively 
few  whites  in  the  House.  In  line,  tlie  new  Legislature  con- 
sisted mainly  of  negroes  (mostly  former  slaves)  and  whites 
who  had  recently  moved  into  the  state— generally  of  that 
class  called  carpet-baggers. 

LOOK   ON   THIS   PICTURE,  AND   ON   THIS. 

WAR  !  PEACE  AND  SELF-RULE  ! 

1864.  1868. 

General  Shepley,  acting  under  General  Sheridan,  acting  under 
government  orders,  ordered  an  elec-  government  orders,  ordered  an  elec- 
tion, declared  who  should  vote,  reg-  tion,  declared  who  should  vote,  reg- 
istered the  voters,  and  held  the  elec-  istered  the  voters,  and  held  the  elec- 
tion, tion. 

The  electees,  in  convention,  made  The  electees,  in  convention,  made 

the  Constitution  of  1864.  the  Constitution  of  1868. 

Mark  the  vital  diffeiences.  Shepley  acted  after  the  gov- 
ernment had  declared  war,  and  Sheridan  after  the  govern- 
ment had  declared  peace ! 

Shepley  acted  only  on  ten  per  cent,  of  the  state,  without 
usurpation,    while    Sheridan,    or   whoever   was   responsible. 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  397 

usurped,  and  was  ten-fold   more  violative  of  freedom  and 
self-government.     But  Shepley,  as  we  shall  see,  ^vas  justifia- 
ble, while  Sheridan  had  no  earthly  excuse,  but  unlawful  or- 
ders !   But  he  had  no  option ;  Congress  commanded  him  to  act 
and  report  that  "  order  reigns  in  [the  Southern]  Warsaw  '^ !  ' 

V.   THE   ADVENT   OF   WARMOTHISM. 

The  poliiical  '^ gypsy  swings  his  pot  and  pitches  his  tent  wherever 
there  is  a  prospect  of  [^political]  plunder  J^ 

Warmothism  and  political  gypsyism,  when  analyzed,  will  be 
found  synonymous.  Their  terrible  imj^ort  is,  in  a  measure 
seen  in  the  following  sketch,  made  from  the  vast  mass  of  facts 
— many  volumes  in  extent — which  constitute  the  reconstruc- 
tion history  of  Louisiana.  The  intelligent  citizen  of  the  state 
will  say  when  he  gets  through — "the  half  (or  even  the  tithe) 
has  not  been  told.'^ 

Warmothism  operated  for  eight  years.     Kellogg  (a  mere 
incident)  could  but  add  to  the  evil  and  aggravate  its  harm. 
His  administration  was  "pork  still,  with  change  of  sauce;''  as 
will  be  seen.     At  the  head  of  the  new  government  and  party 
was  a  young  adventurer — a  political  gypsy,  named  Henry  C. 
Warmoth — who  had  come  to  Louisiana  in  the  Federal  army 
a  short  time  before,  from  which  he  had  been,  as  was  credibly 
stated,  dismissed  for  good  cause;  and  who  had   ingratiated 
himself  with  the  negroes,  by  organizing  them,  and  insisting 
upon  their  political  rights,  long  before  Congress  did  so.     As 
early  as  1866,  before  the  negroes  had  been  granted  the  elec- 
tive franchise,  Warmoth  had  held  a  mock  election,  at  which 
they  voted,  and  had  had  himself  returned  as  a  delegate  from 
the  territory  of  Louisiana,  under  universal  suffrage.     A  queer 
attachment  to  this  election,  but  very  characteristic  of  Warmoth, 
was  the  placing  of  boxes  at  the  polls,  wdiere  the  negroes  who 
voted  could  contribute  fifty  cents  each  to  a  fund  for  paying 
his  expenses  to  Washington  to  assert  his  claims.     The  negroes 
had  never  exercised  the  elective  franchise  before;  tliey  felt 
honored  thereby;    and  they  gladly  paid  for  the  privilege  of 
voting  for  Warmoth. 


398  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTfl? 

This  little  episode — while  productive  of  no  impoiitant  re- 
sults at  the  time,  for  Congress  promptly  rejected  his  claim, 
based  as  it  was,  on  the  ballots  of  negrcx^s,  on  whom  it  had 
not,  as  yet,  conferred  the  elective  franchise, — made  him  the 
idol  and  hero  of  the  negro  race;  and  in  the  convention  which 
followed,  he  was  nominated  and,  in  the  subsequent  election, 
chosen  Governor. 

The  ensuing  Warmoth  regime  proved  far  more  oppressive 
and  injurious  than  the  previous  military  rule. 

Under  Warmoth,  the  dictatorship  was  still  more  pronounced, 
all  the  affairs  of  the  state  being  concentrated  in  the  hands  of 
the  Governor,  at  the  same  time  that  a  system  of  spoliation 
was  organized  which,  in  a  comparatively  short  time, raised  the 
taxatiou  to  the  highest  limits  ever  known  in  America,  swelled 
the  state  debt  to  many  times  what  it  had  been  before,  and  re- 
duced the  proud  commonwealth  to  unexampled  poverty. 

The  system  of  spoliation  then  orgauized,  continued  until 
the  gang  that  worked  it,  quarrelled  among  themselves  over 
the  plunder,  and  fiually  turned  state's  evidence  against  each 
other.  It  was  in  this  way  alone,  that  the  world  was  made  ac- 
quainted with  the  evil  doings  of  this  conspiracy  against  the 
people  and  their  treasury. 

The  Legislature,  elected  under  military  control,  assembled 
in  New  Orleans,  June  29,  1868,  and  Warmoth  was 
inaugurated  July  13th.  The  first  action  of  the  Legis- 
lature was  to  shut  out  the  Democratic  members  by 
a  test-oath.  The  Republicans  organized  both  houses,  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  investigate  the  claims  of  the 
Democratic  members,  and  finally  seated  those  they  pleased. 
The  Democrats  admitted,  constituted  at  best,  merely  a  cor- 
poral's guard,  unable  to  obstruct  the  various  jobs  which  soon 
found  their  way  before  the  Legislature. 

Recognizing  the  fact  that  the  election  of  April,  1868,  had 
been  carried  by  suppressing  the  white  vote,  and  by  the  fraud- 
ulent registration  of  the  negroes,  the  Warmoth  Legislature, 
in  which  the  Republican  influence  was  overwhelmingly  pre- 
dominant, set  to  woi4v  at  once  to  so  change  the  registration 
laws  of  the  state,  as  to  prevent  the  people  from  ever  over- 
turning the  Government  at  the  polls.     The  general  idea  of 


EECONSTRUCTIOX  IN  LOUISIANA.  399 

the  Legislature  was  to  concentrate  all  the  election  machinery 
in  the  hands  of  the  Governor.  A  number  of  laws  of  an  ex- 
perimeLtal  character  were  passed,  and  it  was  some  time  before 
Warmoth  w^as  fully  satisfied.  The  election  laws  of  Louisiana 
from  1868  forward,  for  ten  years,  were  purposed  for  fraud  and 
suppression  of  the  popular  will.  Her  system  of  registration, 
returning  boards,  the  throwing  out  of  votes,  etc.,  was  adopted 
in  most  of  the  other  Southern  states.  No  better  machinery 
for  fraud  and  tyranny  was  ever  conceived ;  for  with  the 
power  given  to  the  Governor  by  the  various  laws  referred  to, 
he  could  name  every  official  and  control  the  state  absolutely. 

One  of  the  first  acts  created  a  Board  of  Registration,  con- 
sisting of  three  members,  appointed  by  the  Governor,  which 
Board  had  the  appointment  of  the  Supervisors  in  the  several 
parishes.  Warmoth,  wdio  was  always  suspicious,  was  not 
satisfied  with  the  power  of  appointing  these  officials,  but 
adopted  the  precaution  which  he  ever  observed,  of  insist- 
ing upon  a  blank  resignation  with  every  appointment,  so  that 
if  any  of  the  Supervisors  of  Registration  were  rebellious, 
or  failed  to  carry  out  his  wishes,  they  could  be  removed  at 
once  by  filling  in  a  date  to  their  blank  resignations,  and 
appointing  a  more  obedient  official.  There  w^as  no  require- 
ment that  the  registration  officers  should  be  residents  of  the 
parish  in  wdiicli  they  acted,  and  a  great  majority  of 
them  w^ere  chosen  from  New  Orleans,  from  among  the  large 
number  of  adventurers  to  be  found  in  a  great  city,  and  some 
even  Avere  citizens  and  residents  of  other  states.  The  Super- 
visors of  Registration  of  a  number  of  parishes  had  never  set 
foot  in  them  before  they  arrived  there  to  conduct  the  elec- 
tions ;  and,  in  many  cases,  these  non-residents  announced 
themselves  as  candidates  for  the  Legislature,  and  returned 
themselves  as  elected  thereto. 

As  a  further  safeguard,  and  to  assure  the  fidelity  of  the 
supervisors,  they  were  liberally  paid.  For  example,  for 
the  partial  registration  of  1868,  the  large  sum  of  $147,- 
341.40  was  di\'ided  among  the  Board  of  Registration  and  the 
employees. 

This  registration  and  election  machinery,  however,  gave 
way  before  an   uprising  of  the  people ;  and  in  the  Presiden- 


400  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

tial  election  which  followed  that  of  Warmoth  a  few  months, 
the  Republicans  were  defeated  by  an  overwhelming  majority. 
AVhereupon,  the  Legislature  improved  on  its  registration  laws, 
and  developed  the  more  perfect  machinery  of  the  Returning 
Board.  By  the  provisions  of  the  registration  and  election 
laws,  the  decision  of  any  Supervisor  of  Registration  on  mat- 
ters relating  to  the  registry  of  voters  was  final,  and  not  sub- 
ject to  revision  or  correction  by  any  court.  The  courts  were 
indeed  prohibited  from  interfering  in  any  way  with  these 
Supervisors,  or  their  assistants.  And  the  judge  of  any  court 
so  interfering,  was  subject  to  a  fine  of  $500  and  impeach- 
ment. After  the  votes  were  cast,  they  were  counted  in 
secret  by  the  Supervisor  of  Registration,  surrounded  by  his 
appointees,  and  sealed  and  sent  to  the  Governor.  At  a  later 
day,  still  another  improvement  was  added  to  the  election  ma- 
chinery, by  the  creation  of  a  Returning  Board,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  return  the  vote  of  the  state.  If  the  Commissioners 
of  Election,  or  the  Supervisor  of  Registration  of  a  parish, 
accompanied  any  report  by  the  statement  that  there  was  a 
disturbance,  riot,  tumult,  intimidation  or  bribery  at  any  poll, 
the  Returning  Board  could,  if  it  saw  proper,  throw  out  that 
poll,  or  the  vote  of  the  entire  parish. 

This  law  placed  the  whole  control  of  the  election  in  the 
hands  of  the  Governor,  and  enabled  him  in  1870  to  carry  the 
state  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  and  even  the  Democratic 
city  of  New  Orleans. 

The  entire  legislation  of  the  first  General  Assembly  held 
in  Louisiana  under  the  reconstruction  acts  and  the  so-called 
Constitution  of  1868,  was  devoted  to  measures  of  this  kind, 
intended  to  fortify  the  Republican  party  in  power,  so  that  it 
could  never  be  ousted ;  and  the  machinery  was  so  very  com- 
plete and  complicated  that  a  practically  unanimous  people 
could  not  have  driven  the  Republicans  out,  save  by  a  popular 
uprising. 

In  addition  to  the  registration  and  election  laws,  which,  it 
was  hoped,  would  control  all  elections,  police  and  constabu- 
lary laws  were  passed,  creating  a  standing  army  in  New  Or- 
leans and  the  parishes,  under  command  of  the  Governor ; 
and  a  printing  law,  which  caused  the  establishment  of  Re- 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  40I 

publican  organs  in  all  the  parishes,  and  gave  them  a  monopoly 
of  printing  the  laws  and  public  advertisements.  The  police 
control  of  New  Orleans,  which  had  always  been  in  the  hands 
of  the  people,  was  taken  from  them  and  given  over  to  a  com- 
mission, appointed  by  the  Governor,  and  consisting  of  three 
colored  and  two  white  Kepublicans. 

The  Legislature  of  1868,  started  with  a  Republican  ma- 
jority, which  it  increased,  from  time  to  time,  by  ousting 
Democratic  members.  Of  the  dominant  party,  onlv  ten  were 
tax-payers.  Corruption  and  bribery  reigned  supreme,  and 
the  knaves,  to  avoid  any  possible  danger,  refused  to  pass  any 
bribery  law,  so  that  it  was  no  crime  to  bribe  a  public  official. 
Those  of  them  who  did  not  make  money  in  this  way,  were 
rare  exceptions.  When  Mr.  S.  W.  Scott  swore  before  a  Con- 
gressional Committee  that  he  had  seen  money  paid  out  as 
bribes  to  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  Pinchback,  and  to  the 
Speaker  of  the  House,  Mortimer  Carr,  neither  denied  the 
statement,  nor  did  either  cross-examine  him.  When  he 
charged  that  it  cost  more  to  get  the  signature  of  the  Governor 
to  his  bill  (a  subsidy  for  a  railroad)  than  to  get  the  measure 
through  the  Legislature,  and  that  it  cost  eighty  thousand  dol- 
lars in  all.  Governor  Warmoth  entered  no  protest  or  denial. 

When,  later,  these  eagles  fought  over  their  prey,  and  exer- 
cised their  talons  on  one  another,  a  series  of  reciprocal  por- 
traitures appeared,  which  do  full  justice  to  the  originals. 
Warmoth  gave  some  testimony  as  to  the  corruption  and 
bribery  which  prevailed,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  spoils 
were  divided.  Here  are  his  pictures  of  the  most  prominent 
men  in  his  party. 

Casey,  Collector  of  Customs,  got  through  the  Legislature 
a  bill,  incorporating  a  warehouse  company,  in  which  he  was 
interested,  and  appropriating  §1,400,000  of  State  Bonds  as 
its  capital  stock.  He  was  also  interested  in  the  New  Orleans 
Shed  Company,  which  proposed  to  monopolize  the  leve'e  front ; 
and  was  custodian  of  the  $18,000  corruption  fund  raised  to 
get  this  measure  through  the  Legislature. 

Postmaster  Lowell  worked  for  the  Ship  Island  Canal  bill, 
which  appropriated  all  the  swam])  lands  in  the  vicinity  of 
New  Orleans,  for  a  company  in  which  he  was  interested. 

26 


402  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Unital  States  Marshal  Packard  was  interested  in  the  Nich- 
olson Pavement  bill,  which  Governor  Warmoth  was  offered 
§50,000  to  sign. 

George  W.  Carter,  Speaker  of  the  House,  on  account  of 
his  influence,  received  an  interest  in  the  Louisiana  Levee 
Company,  which  was  drawing  millions  out  of  the  State 
Treasury  annually,  was  the  })aid  attorney  of  nearly  all  the 
railroads  requiring  legislation,  although  he  never  performed 
the  slightest  service  for  them  beyond  pocketing  bills  which 
they  deemed  objectionable.  He  also  worked  through  an  aj)- 
propriation  of  $25,000  a  mile  for  a  railroad  in  which  he  was 
interested,  the  Louisiana  Transit  Company,  and  secured  a 
subsidy  of  §1,000,000  in  bonds  for  a  favorite  steamship  com- 
pany. 

John  Pay,  Senator  from  Ouachita,  got  §70,000  for  revising 
the  statutes,  besides  |54G,000  in  State  Bonds  in  aid  of  a  rail- 
road, the  Yicksburg  and  Shreveport,  in  which  he  was  inter- 
ested. He  had,  moreover,  an  interest  in  the  Louisiana  Levee 
Company,  of  which  he  subsequently  became  Pj'csident.  To 
this  company  he  voted  an  appropriation  of  $9,000,000,  Avith 
a  one  per  cent,  tax  for  twenty- one  years,  the  company  being 
authorized  to  issue  bonds  in  anticipation  of  these  taxes,  which 
bonds  the  state  endorsed  and  guaranteed. 

Such  were  the  charges  made  by  Warmoth  against  his  asso- 
ciates, and  not  denied  by  them.  Corruption  was  believed  by 
the  public  to  be  universal.  The  men  thus  accused  were 
equally  free  in  their  charges  against  Warmoth.  They  pointed 
to  the  fact,  that  whereas  he  had  come  to  Louisiana  poor — so 
poor,  indeed,  that  he  had  been  com})elled  to  appeal  to  the 
negroes  for  a  charity  fund  to  send  him  to  Washington  to 
claim  a  seat  as  delegate — he  became  rich  within  a  year  of 
taking  office ;  and  they  pointed  out  that  he  had  concentrated 
in  his  person,  through  the  registration,  election,  police  and 
other  laws,  all  the  powers  of  the  state. 

The  Governor  could  keep  an  act,  passed  by  the  Legislature, 
in  his  pocket  as  long  as  he  saw  fit,  and  veto  or  approve  it  at 
any  time ;  and  he  did,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  on  November  20th, 
1872,  sign  and  promulgate  a  law,  which  we  shall  recur  to, 
giving  him  further  power  over  the  elections,  which  had  been 


KECOXSTKUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  493 

passed  by  the  Legislature  Avhicli  had  adjourned  eight  or  nine 
mouths  before. 

VI.    WAKMOTHISM. 

It  is  difficult  to  show  the  exact  amount  of  spoliation  under 
Warmoth.  The  annual  expenditures  give  only  a  faint  idea 
of  it.  A  vast  deal  was  done  outside  of  law,  and  not  recor- 
ded, but  became  known — suggesting  probabilities  of  much 
undiscovered  wrong.  The  following  table  gives  some  idea  of 
the  profligacy  under  Warmoth,  by  comparison  with  similar 
expenditures  under  a  Democratic  administration  : 

Cost  of  Collecting  Taxes, $493,324  $52,726 

Cost  of  Public  Printing, 390,000  25,000 

Legislative  Expenses, 626,000  37,000 

Average  Annual  ExjDenses,  all  purposes,  5,278,915  1,092,931. 

In  one  year,  to  collect  taxes  amounting  to  §4,136,  118,  the 
state  tax  collectors  receiving  $493,324,  or  12.3  per  cent. 
Warmoth's  perquisites  therein  were  an  unknown  quantity,  but 
his  rapidly  increasing  wealth  seemed  to  be  an  index.  From 
their  knowledge  of  his  greed,  his  quickness  of  apprehension  and 
his  genius  for  contrivance,  Louisianians  think  that  all  his  tax 
gatherers  left  with  him  their  blank  resignations,  and  their 
promise  to  divide  fees  ,with  him.  At  all  events,  while  the 
writer  cannot  record  as  history  the  fact  or  the  share,  he  deems 
it  good  history  to  say  that  every  thinking  man  of  that  plun- 
dered state  believes  that  Warmoth  got  a  large  share  of  the 
fees  in  question.  The  statements  of  his  co-conspirators,  now 
scattered  abroad,  would  be  worth  hearing. 
I  In  a  single  year,  1871,  the  legislative  expenses  were  $626,- 
000,  and  even  this  was  exceeded  by  an  over  issue  of  $200,000 
of  fraudulent  warrants,  making  the  cost  to  the  state  of  a 
short  session  of  §6,150  for  each  legislator.  This  over  issue 
of  legislative  vouchers  forced  these  warrants  down  to  2^ 
cents  ;  yet  when  the  funding  board  met  in  1874,  these  war- 
rants, bought  at  two  and  one-half  to  five  cents  on  the  dollar, 
were  funded  at  par. 

The  annual  expenditure  of  the  Warmoth  government  dur- 


404  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

iiicr  the  four  years  and  five  months  it  was  in  power,  was  as 
follows,  not  including  the  increase  made  in  the  state  debt : 

1868,  from  July, $3,837,877.74 

1869, 4,21)4,677.16 

1870, 7,131,202.11 

1871, 6,425,831.50 

1872, 4,704,983.65 

Total  for  4  years  and  5  months,    ....  $26,304,  578.25. 

To  this  must  be  added  the  bonds  issued  in  support  of  the 
various  measures,  in  which  the  governor  and  other  Republican 
leaders  were  interested.  It  was  notorious  in  that  de])lorable 
time  that  he  and  they  all  lobbied  on  the  floor  of  the  Legisla- 
ture in  favor  of  their  pet  measures,  and  that  every  prominent 
member  was  promoting  some  bill  which  he  hoped  would  make 
him  rich.  Every  possible  mode  of  robbing  the  treasury 
under  the  forms  of  law,  seemed  to  have  been  devised  and 
started  on  the  Legislative  road,  with  all  possible  vigor  of 
greed,  and  with  high  hopes  of  success. 

Soon  after  coming  into  office.  Governor  Warmoth  called 
attention  to  the  state  debt,  and  to  the  facility  with  which  it 
could  be  increased.  In  his  message  to  the  Legislature,  Janu- 
ary 4,  1868,  he  said  :  *'  The  total  bonded  debt,  exclusive  of 
bonds  owned  bv  the  state,  is  §6,771,300,  and  this  sum  is 
further  reducible  by  §871,000.  The  floating  debt  is  $1,929,- 
500 ;  and  it  is  expected  that  enough  can  be  realized  from  the 
special  one  per  cent,  tax  to  discharge  the  entire  floating  debt, 
and  leave  a  surplus  of  §500,000.''  "Our  debt  is  smaller 
than  that  of  almost  any  state  in  the  Union,''  continued  War- 
moth,  significantly ;  ''with  a  tax  roll  of  $251,000,000,  and 
a  bonded  debt  that  can  at  will  be  reduced  to  §6,000,000, 
there  is  no  reason  that  our  credit  should  not  be  at  par." 

Actino-  on  this  suggestion,  the  Legislature  and  State  officers 
went  to  work  at  once  to  utilize  this  good  credit  to  the  fullest 
extent.  The  census  of  1870  showed  the  debt  of  the  state  to 
have  increased  to  §25,021,734,  and  that  of  the  parishes  and 
municipalities  to  §28,065,707.  Within  a  year  the  state  debt 
was  increased  four-fold  and  the  local  indedtedness  had  doubled. 
Louisiana,  according  to  the  census,  stood,  in  the  matter  of  debt. 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  495 

at  the  head  of  tlie  Union.  With  an  indebtedness  per  capita 
of  §73.03,  the  next  state  to  it,  the  rich  coniinonwealth  of 
Massachusetts,  having  a  debt  of  only  §47.49  per  capita, 
Louisiana's  debt  was  over  20  per  cent,  of  its  assessed  weakh. 

This,  however,  was  only  the  beginning  of  Warmoth's  regime 
—i\\Q  first  year  and  a  half  of  it.  In  1870  bonds  to  the  amount 
of  §7,000,000,  were  issued  to  the  Louisiana  Levee  Company, 
in  which  so  many  of  the  Republican  leaders  were  interested, 
§500,000  for  the  state  penitentiary,  and  §474,000  for  the 
Mississippi  and  Mexican  Gulf  canal.  In  1871  bonds  to  the 
amount  of  $2,500,000  were  issued  in  aid  of  the  Mobile,  New 
Orleans  and  Texas  Railroad.  In  addition  to  this  the  state 
had  made  itself  responsible  for  the  payment  of  bonds  lent  to 
the  various  banks,  aggregating  §6,579,683,  with  miscellaneous 
debts  of  §3,476,269,  bringing  the  total  up  to  §41,733,752.17 
(report  of  State  Auditor,  January  1st,  1872).  In  his  message 
to  the  Legislature,  Warmoth,  at  the  same  date,  estimated  dif- 
feiently,  and  placed  the  state  debt  at  $41,194,493.91.  A 
committee  of  the  Legislature,  appointed  to  investigate  the 
matter,  found  that  both  the  Governor  and  Auditor  were  too 
low  in  their  estimates,  and,  after  itemizing  the  state  debt, 
placed  it  for  1872  at  $48,029,349.95.  Adding  to  this  the 
parish  and  municipal  obligations,  the  total  indebtedness  of 
Louisiana  in  1872  was  $76,095,056.78. 

Under  Warmoth  the  Republicans  had  added  to  the  state 
and  city  indebtedness  of  Louisiana  §54,325,759,  with  nothing 
whatever  to  show  for  it.  The  cost  of  these  four  years  and 
five  months  of  misrule  was,  therefore: 

Money  actually  expended  by  state,  ....  $26,894,578. 

.  By  local  bodies  (partly  estimated) 25,300,000. 

Increase  in  debt  (state  and  local), 54,325,759. 

Total  cost  4  y'rs  and  5  mo's  Eepublican  misrule,  .    .  $106,020,337. 
Amounting  per  year  to, §24,040,089. 

In  a  little  over  four  years  the  Republican  party  had  spent 
nearlv  as  much  in  amount  as  half  the  wealth  of  the  state.  Of 
the  bonds  issued,  a  large  part  bore  interest  at  eight  per  cent. 

Such  profligacy  necessarily  required  a  heavy  rate  of  taxa- 
tion.    The  state  tax  in   1867,  just  previous   to   Warmoth's 


406  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

election,  was  3f  mills:  in  1869  it  was  raised  to  5J;  in  1870  to 
7J;  in  1871  to  14^;  and  in  1872  to  21J  mills,  at  which  fig- 
ure it  remained  for  some  years.  The  taxation  in  New  Orleans 
which  had  been  15  mills  previous  to  the  election  of  Warmoth, 
became  23|  mills  in  1869;  26 J  mills  in  1870;  27^  mills  in 
1871;  and  finally  30  mills,  or  8  percent,  in  1873.  Some  of 
the  country  parishes  fared  even  worse,  and  in  one  case  (that 
of  Natchitoches)  the  taxation  reached  7.9  percent — much  more 
than  the  average  interest  on  capital  invested,  or  the  productive 
power  of  property. 

But,  great  as  is  this  total  of  §106,020,337,  spent  by  War- 
moth  and  his  followers,  it  does  not  represent  all  the  depletion 
Louisiana  then  suffered.  To  it  must  be  added  the  privileges 
and  franchises  given  away  to  favorites,  and  the  state  property 
stolen.  To  one  com])any  was  given  all  the  swamp  lands  in 
the  vicinity  of  .New  Orleans;  to  another  rights  and  franchises 
on  the  levee,  or  river  front,  of  New  Orleans,  worth  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  dollars.  And,  as  if  this  were  not  enough, 
the  school  fund  of  the  several  parishes,  resulting  from  the 
appropriations  and  land  donations  made  by  the  State  and 
Federal  Governments,  were  plundered.  In  his  report  for  1873, 
State  Superintendent  of  Education  W.  F.  Brown,  a  Republi- 
can and  a  colored  man,  called  attention  to  some  of  these 
thefts,  as  follows :  Stolen  in  Carroll  parish,  in  1871,  §30,000 ; 
in  East  Baton  Rouge,  $5,032;  in  St.  Landry,  §5,700;  in  St. 
Martin,  §3,786.80;  in  Plaquemines,  §5,855;  besides  large 
amounts  in  St.  Tammany,  Concordia,  INIorehouse,  and  other 
parishes.  The  entire  permanent  school  fund  of  the  ^^arishes 
disappeared  during  this  period. 

The  state  had  at  the  time  of  Warmoth's  inauguration  a 
trust  fund  of  §1,300,500,  for  the  benefit  of  the  free  public 
schools.  The  bonds  which  represented  this  fund — the  most 
sacred  in  the  custody  of  the  state — were  sold  at  public  auction 
in  June,  1872,  for  §1,096,956.25,  and  the  proceeds,  instead  of 
being  given  to  the  schools,  were  set  aside  to  pay  the  warrants 
which  had  been  issued  by  Warmoth  for  purposes  foreign  to 
the  legitimate  public  use,  and  held  by  a  ring  of  jobbers  and 
brokers  who  had  bought  them  at  a  heavy  discount. 

In  like  manner  other  property  belonging  to  the  state  was 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  407 

plundered.  Louisiana  had,  in  previous  years,  subscribed  to  aid 
the  construction  of  various  railroads,  and  held  their  bonds  in 
return  therefor.  It  had  §650,000,  of  the  bonds  of  the  New  Or- 
leans, Opelousas  and  Great  Western  Railroad;  35,800  shares 
of  the  New  Orleans,  Jackson  and  Great  Northern  Railroad 
for  which  it  had  paid  $884,000 ;  $298,000  in  the  Vicksburg^ 
Shreveport  and  Pacific  Railroad;  and  stock  or  bonds  in  the 
New  Orleans  &  Nashville,  and  the  Baton  Rouge,  Grosse  Tete 
&  Opelousas  Railroads. 

Under  Act  16,  of  1870,  the  $884,000  interest  of  the  state 
in  the  Jackson  Railroad  was  sold  for  $141,000,  or  $4  })er 
share;  and,  under  the  same  act,  the  interest  of  New  Orleans 
in  the  same  road,  nominally  $2,000,000,  was  sold  for  $320,- 
000.     Under  Act  81,  of  1872,  the  state's  interest  in  the  Ope- 
lousas Railroad  was  exchanged  for  warrants  at  65  cents  on  the 
dollar.    When,  however,  the  autliorities  examined  these  bonds, 
preparatory  to  selling  them,  they  found  that  the  treasury  had 
been  despoiled  of  a  great  many  of  them  by  previous  wrono-- 
doers,  and  it  was  morev^er,  ascertained  that  interest  had  been 
paid  regularly  on  the  stolen  bonds,  although  they  were  known 
to  be  stolen,  and  in  the  hands  of  the  thieves.     The  money  ob- 
tained from  selling  these  and  other  trust  funds,  was  set  aside 
for  the  payment  of  warrants  or  in  aid  of  various  projects  in 
which  Warmoth  and  Ids  followers  were  interested.    According 
to  a  report  of  a  committee  of  the  Legislature,  the  slate  held  in 
1865,  in  trust  funds,  state  bonds,  collections,  etc.,  $8,244,468.24, 
and  the  municipalities,  parishes,  and  school  districts,  about 
$4,000,000  more.     By  the  end  of  Warmoth's  regime,  all  these 
funds  had  disappeared,  a  large  portion  of  them  being  openly 
stolen,  and  the  rest  squandered  or  divided  among  thecons})ira- 
tors.  This  brings  the  spoliation,  or  embezzlement,  or  stealage, 
or  whatever  it  may  be  called,  up  to  nearly  one  hundred  and 
twenty  millions,  or  more  than  half  the  wealth  of  the  state. 

By  act  49  of  1869,  New  Orleans  was  authorized  to  issue 
bonds  for  the  retirement  of  certain  notes  and  indebtedness. 
The  bonds  were  issued,  but  only  $1,500  of  the  notes  were 
retired,  the  money  being  misappropriated  to  other  purposes, 
$805,000  going  for  the  support  of  the  Metropolitan  Police, 
or  state  constabulary,  which  Warmoth  entirely  depended  on 


408  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

for  the  defense  of  his  government  against  an  oppressed  and 
plundered  people. 

Space  can  be  given  to  only  a  few  more  of  the  almost 
innumerable  jobs  or  swindles  that  marked  that  regime.  In 
1864,  in  the  last  year  of  tlie  war,  a  Mr.  'Weil  furnished  the 
state  with  supplies,  for  which  he  received  certificates  of  the 
state  government  to  the  amount  of  §le50,000.  These  certifi- 
cates were  presented  to  Warmoth,  and  he  was  asked  whether 
he  wouid  sign  an  act  validating  them,  if  it  were  passed  by 
the  Legislature.  He  replied  that  it  could  not  be  done,  as  the 
Legislature  could  not  constitutionally  validate  a  confederate 
claim.  The  Legislature  subsequently  authorized  Mr.  Weil  to 
sue  the  state  for  tiie  money,  and  Warmoth  vetoed  the  bill ; 
but  when  the  auditor's  report  came  out,  it  was  found  that  the 
W^eil  claim  had  been  funded  by  Warmoth's  funding  commis- 
sioners, and  that  AVarmoth  himself  had  been  one  of  them. 
It  was  stated  that  he  as  Governor  signed  the  bill  making  the 
settlement  and  ai)propriation  before  the  Speaker  of  the  House 
had  done  so.  It  became  a  law  Saturday  night,  and  the  bonds 
for  settlement  were  handed  over  on  Monday  morning  early. 
It  w^as  this  claim  that  Thomas  C.  Anderson,  of  Returning 
Board  fiime,  who  was  then  a  Senator,  had  bought  for  §10,- 
000,  and  had  lobbied  through  the  Legislature.  How  far  he 
and  Warmoth  may  have  co-operated  and  divided  it  all,  can 
only  be  surmised. 

Warmoth  received  $100,000  worth  of  stock  in  the  Missis- 
sippi and  Mexican  Gulf  Canal,  for  which,  according  to  his 
own  testimony,  he  did  not  pay  a  dollar  ;  yet  he  lobbied 
through  the  Legislature  and  signed  a  bill  giving  $480,000  of 
state  bonds  to  this  company,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  lar- 
gest stockholders. 

The  public  printing  of  the  state,  in  English  and  French, 
had,  in  previous  years,  cost  about  $37,000  a  year.  During 
the  first  two  years  and  a  half  of  Warmoth's  regime^  the  New 
Orleans  Republican,  in  which  he  was  the  principal  stockholder, 
received  $1,140,881.77  for  public  printing. 

His  gathering  the  reins  of  autocratic  power,  as  he  did  do, 
through  his  election,  registration  and  Returning-Board  laws, 
necessitated  that  concomitant — his  standing  army.     Act  No. 


RECONSTRUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  499 

74  of  1870,  known  as  the  constabulary  law,  gave  the  power 
to  appoint  one  chief  constable  in  every  parish,  he  to  have  the 
right  to  appoint  as  many  deputies  '^ashe  might  deem  fit." 
The  chief  and  deputy  constables  received  commissions  from 
the  Governor,  and  were  by  this  Act  '^  subject  to  his  orders  " 
^'  to  make  arrests,  quell  riots,  etc."  The  Governor  could  send 
the  constabulary  from  one  parish  to  another,  whenever 
necessary.  Their  pay  was  large — 13  and  §4  a  day,  and  the 
parishes  were  required  to  provide  it  from  the  parish  taxes. 

By  Act  92  of  1869,  Warmoth  and  the  Legislature  had 
created  another  armed  force,  known  as  the  Metropolitan  police. 
This  body  was  controlled  by  a  commissioner,  appointed  and 
removable  by  the  Governor.  Originally  intended  for  the  city 
of  New  Orleans  and  vicinity,  its  jurisdiction  or  field  of  service 
was  extended  to  the  entire  state ;  and  it  was  sent  to  various 
parishes  by  order  of  the  Governor.  It  was  armed  with  rifles 
and  revolvers ;  and  supplied  with  Gatling  and  Napoleon 
guns ;  and  a  portion  of  it  was  mounted  on  cavalry.  After- 
wards, under  Kellogg,  this  force  of  infantry,  cavalry  and 
artillery  was  added  to  by  the  purchase  of  vessels,  thus  pro- 
viding Louisiana  with  a  navy  as  well  as  a  standing  armv, 
This  army  alone  cost  the  state  $847,395  for  1869  ;  §887,8o0 
for  1870,  and  averaged  about  that  amount  thereafter. 

Having  secured  the  control  of  the  elections,  and  created  a 
standing  army,  Warmoth's  next  step  was  to  obtain  possession 
of  the  judiciary,  so  as  to  prevent  any  judicial  interference 
with  his  schemes.  The  Constitution  of  1868  provided  for 
the  election  of  the  judges.  This  trouble  was  easily  circum- 
vented by  the  Legislative  creation  of  two  new  courts,  one  civil 
and  the  other  criminal — the  two  having  jurisdiction  over  all 
public  matters ;  and  the  vesting  of  the  power  of  appointing 
the  judges  in  the  Governor.  Of  course  he  appointed  his 
own  creatures,  taking  their  blank  resignations,  so  that  he 
could  remove  them  if  they  failed  to  suit  him,  thus  rendering 
any  judicial  interference  with  himself  impossible.  All  cases 
of  a  public  character,  all  contests  for  offices,  writs  of  quo 
warranto,  &c.,  &c.,  had  to  be  submitted  to  his  judicial  appoin- 
tees and  obedient  servants. 

By  these  laws  he  had  obtained  a  complete  dictatorship  over 


410  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

Louisiana.  Any  state  official  who  resisted  hini  was  removed. 
The  Secretary  of  State,  Geo.  E.  Bovee,  who  had  been  elected 
on  the  same  ticket  with  him,  and  who  was  a  Constitutional 
officer,  was  removed  by  him  because  of  a  quarrel.  He  sent 
his  chief  of  police  to  the  state-house,  who  ejected  Bovee  and 
installed  the  new  appointee.  General  Herron.  Bovee  objected, 
but  Warmoth's  police  was  too  strong.  He  appealed  to  the 
courts,  but  his  claim  was  rejected  by  Warmoth's  judges.  It 
was  conceded  thenceforth  that  the  Governor  could  remove 
whom  he  pleased,  and  that  there  was  no  appeal  against  his 
mandates.  Of  the  other  state  officials  elected  with  him,  the 
Lieutenant-Governor,  Dunn,  a  negro,  died,  and  the  Auditor, 
J.  C.  Wickliffi?,  was  impeached  for  embezzlement  and  crimes 
in  office  ;  and  he  fled  from  the  state. 

In  1870,  the  new  election  law  was  tried,  and  found  to 
effect  all  that  it  was  designed  for.  The  city  of  New  Orleans 
was  turned  over  to  the  mercies  of  Warmothism.  Its  popula- 
'tion  was  three  white  to  one  colored,  and  it  was  overwhelm- 
ingly Democratic,  voting  against  Warmoth,  even  in  1868, 
when  more  than  half  its  white  citizens  were  disfranchised; 
yet  with  the  election  machinery,  he  was  able  to  carry  the 
city  by  a  majority  of  from  six  to  eight  thousand.  His 
Supervisors  of  Kegistration  worked  nearly  a  week  in  private 
on  the  votes,  and  finally  returned  thirteen  of  the  fifteen 
wards  of  the  city,  all  with  overwhelming  white  majorities,  as 
Republican,  and  counted  in  among  the  hundred  and  odd 
electees,  but  four  or  five  Democrats.  New  Orleans  and  the 
State  of  Louisiana  were  both  now  in  AYarmoth's  hands. 

The  election  of  1870  marked  the  summit  of  his  power. 
At  no  time  in  the  history  of  America,  even  in  the  South 
American  States,  had  any  man  made  himself  so  complete  a 
dictator.  But,  over  the  spoils,  arose  the  inevitable  quarrel, 
and  the  two  factions  formed  went  heartily  into  their  only 
good  work,  which  was  to  acquaint  Louisiana  and  the  world 
with  their  rascalities  and  infamy,  and  make  manifest  the  gross 
wrono;  of  cono;ressional  reconstruction. 

To  the  unexampled  profligacy  and  corruption  were  now 
added  frequent  disturbances  and  riots^  caused  by  their  feud. 
The  two  factions  kept  up  their  fight  from   1871   to  1873. 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  411 

The  anti-Warmothites  were  called  the  Ciistom-hoiise  Repub- 
licaos,  as  they  were  maiDly  the  federal  officials  in  the  Custom 
House. 

The  Republican  Convention  of  1871  met  in  the  District 
Court-room  in  the  Custom  House,  a  large  body  of  deputy 
Marshals,  backed  by  a  company  of  soldiers,  surrounding  the 
court-room,  and  refusing  admittance  to  Warmoth  and  his  fol- 
lowers.    The  fight  was  renewed  when  the  Legislature  assem- 
bled in  extra  session  to  choose  a  Lieutenant-Governor,  in  the 
place  of  Dunn ;  and  again  at  the  regular  session  in  January, 
1872.     Carter,  the  Speaker,  who  was  anti-Warmoth,  was  un- 
seated   by   the    Warmoth    Legislators.      The   Custom-house 
faction  turned  the  tables  by  procuring  warrants  for  the  arrest 
of  Governor  Warmoth,  Lieutenant-Governor  Pinchback  and 
eighteen  members  of  the  House,  all  friends  of  Warmoth;  and 
these  arrests  were  made  by  the  United  States  Deputy  Mar- 
shals in  the  State  Capitol.     The  Custom-house  faction  having 
won  this   victory,   adjourned  to  Friday.      Hardly  had  the 
House  adjourned,  when  the  Governor  issued  a  proclamation 
calling  the  Legislature  together  in  extra  session,  to  meet  the 
same  afternoon  (Thursday),  only  the  Warmoth   men   being 
notified  of  this.     They  met,  elected  a  new  Speaker,  and  ex- 
pelled   Carter    from   the   Legislature.      The   Custom-house 
faction,  which   learned   of  this   only  the  next  day,  tried  to 
enter  the  capitol,  but  were  prevented  from  doing  so  by  a  large 
force  of  police,  armed  with   rifles,  and   they  proceeded  to  a 
bar-room  and  organized  in  its  hall. 

This  ^'war  of  the  roses'^  caused  disquiet  and  apprehension 
everywhere,  as  well  as  disturbances  of  the  peace  aud  riots. 
The  Sergeants-at-Arms  of  the  two  Legislatures  scoured  the 
city  with  armed  assistants,  arresting  members  wherever  found. 
One  of  the  Representatives,  Walter  Wheyland,  was  killed 
while  resisting  arrest.  Large  bodies  of  armed  men  paraded 
the  streets.  A  mob  from  the  Custom-house  faction,  to 
arm  themselves  broke  into  several  armories  and  gun-shops. 
The  situation  reached  a  very  critical  condition  January  22d, 
when  a  great  battle  between  the  two  factions  seemed  immi- 
nent. George  W.  Carter,  who  claimed  to  be  Speaker  of  the 
Custom-house  Legislature,  issued  a  proclamation,  calling  upon 


412  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

all  citizens  "to  organize  and  arm  themselves  as  well  as  they 
were  able,  and  report  to  him,  when  they  would  be  sworn  in 
as  Assistant  Sergeants-at-Arms/' 

Governor  Warmoth,  on  his  part,  fully  equipped  and  armed 
his  standing  army,  the  Metropolitan  Police,  stationed  them  in 
position  in  the  vicinity  of  the  State  House,  immediately  op- 
posite Carter's  army,  and  prepared  for  battle.  A  great 
struiTirle  seemed  imminent,  when  General  Emory,  in  command 
of  the  United  States  forces,  acting  under  instructions  from 
President  Grant,  interfered,  and  informed  both  Warmoth  and 
Carter  that  he  had  received  instructions  from  Washington  to 
suppress  all  conflicts  between  armed  bodies  that  might  occur. 
This  refusal  of  the  Federal  Government  to  interfere  in  their 
behalf,  demoralized  the  Custom-house  party,  which  had  been 
led  to  expect  assistance,  and  they  rapidly  dispersed,  leaving 
Warmoth  master  of  the  situation. 

It  was  a  barren  victory,  however.  After  the  bitterness 
that  had  been  shown,  and  the  blood  that  had  been  shed,  it 
was  impossible  to  bring  the  factious  together  again ;  and  two 
distinct  Republican  ])arties  thenceforward  antagonized  each 
other  in  Louisiana,  the  National  and  Liberal  Republicans. 
The  Democrats  saw  their  opportunity,  and  obtained  from 
Warmoth  a  pledge  that  the  approaching  election  of  1872 
would  be  honestly  conducted,  and  the  vote  counted  as  cast. 
This  was  granted  as  a  si>ecial  favor  by  Warmoth,  it  being 
understood  by  all,  tliat  had  he  decreed  differently,  it  lay 
within  his  power  to  declare  any  persons  elected  he  saw  fit. 

The  first  contest  of  the  factions  was  over  the  control  of  the 
Legislature,  and  therein  Warmoth  was  too  shrewd  for  his 
enemies.  A  second  was  over  the  election  of  1872.  Sorely 
needing  help,  he  sought  an  alliance  with  the  Democrats, 
and  promised  them,  among  other  things,  that  they  should 
have  a  fair  election,  and  that  the  registration  and  election 
laws  should  not  be  used  against  them  as  had  been  done  in 
1870. 

Two  full  state  and  legislative  tickets  were  placed  in  the 
field — the  Fusion  ticket,  headed  by  John  M'Enery,  which 
depended  for  its  main  support  upon  the  Democrats  ;  but  which 
was  also  backed  by  Warmoth ;  and  the  regular  Republican 


EECONSTRUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  413 

ticket,  headed  by  W.  P.  Kellogg,  who  had  represented  Louis- 
iana in  the  Senate. 

The  election  was  held  November  4,  1872,  under  the  regis- 
tration and  election  laws  which  Waraioth  had  used  with  such 
effect  against  the  Democrats  two  years  before ;  the  supervisors 
of  registration  made  returns  to  AVarmoth  and  the  Secretary 
of  State,  and  they  turned  them  over  to  the  Returnino-  Board 
which  then  began  to  acquire  its  national  prominence. 

When  that  Board  met,  the  Secretary  of  State,  Ilerron,  wa, 
suspected,  and  therefore  supplanted,  by  Warmoth,  with  Jack 
Wharton,  which  made  the  latter  an  ex-officio  member  of  the 
Board.  On  the  legality  of  this  change  the  result  of  the  elec- 
tion depended,  for  the  Returning  Board  consisted  of  three 
members,  the  Governor,  Lynch  and  the  Secretary  of  State — 
the  latter  having  the  deciding  vote.  The  Board  soon  split 
into  two,  Warmoth  and  Wharton  acting  as  one,  and  fillino- 
the  vacancies  by  election  ;  and  Lynch  and  Herron  organizing 
another. 

Both  Boards  went  into  the  Eighth  District  Court,  the 
political  court  created  by  Warmoth  to  further  his  own  ends ; 
but  the  Judge  had  lately  turned  against  him,  and  the  Lvnch 
party  obtained  an  injunction  in  its  favor  prohibiting  the 
Warmoth  Board  from  counting  the  votes.  The  question  also 
went  into  the  United  States  Circuit  Court,  on  the  claim  that 
some  ten  thousarnd  persons  had  been  denied  registration,  and 
that  some  three  thousand  to  five  thousand  neg-roes  had  been 
deprived  of  their  right  to  vote. 

This  case — Kellogg  vs.  Warmoth — could  not  have  in- 
volved the  validity  of  either  Board,  but  Judge  Durell 
chose  to  usurp  jurisdiction,  and  held  that  the  Lynch  Board 
was  the  legal  one,  and  issued  a  number  of  orders  and  in- 
junctions in  its  favor,  notably  the  remarkable  one  soon  to  be 
presented. 

He  prohibited  the  other  Board  from  canvassing  the  vote ; 
prohibited  McEnery  from  acting,  or  pretending  to  act,  as 
Governor;  and  prohibited  the  official  journal  from  publisliing 
any  announcement  of  the  election  emanating  from  the  War- 
moth Board. 

The  Governor  countervailed  this  by  pulling  out  of  his  safe 


414  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

an  Act  passed  by  the  Legislature  before  it  acljourned,  many 
months  before,  which  he  had  neither  signed  nor  vetoed  ;  and 
he  now  signed  and  promulgated  it,  thereby  creating  an  entirely 
new  Returning  Board,  the  members  of  which  lie  had  the 
powTr  to  appoint.  These  appointments  were  made  ;  the  new 
Board  met,  canvassed  the  vote,  and  declared,  on  December 
4th,  just  one  month  after  the  election,  that  McEnery  and  the 
entire  Fusion  ticket  were  elected. 

On  the  succeeding  night  came  a  clap  of  thunder.  At  mid- 
night, on  December  5th,  Durell,  the  United  States  District 
(acting  as  Circuit)  Judge,  in  the  presence  of  Kellogg's  coun- 
sel, one  of  them  the  United  States  District  Attorney,  and  one 
other  person,  handed  out  his  famous  midnight  order  to  Pack- 
ard, United  States  ^larshal.  It  was  generally  said  and 
believed  that  the  judge  was  intoxicated,  his  signature  being 
referred  to  as  one  of  the  evidences. 

This  order  or  edict  was  unquestionably  the  most  remarkable 
ever  issued  in  America.  On  the  })retence  that  Warmoth  had 
committed  contempt  of  his  court,  the  United  States  Marshal 
was  ordered  to  take  possession  of  the  state-house  and  hold  it 
at  his  (DurelFs)  will,  and  to  prevent  all  unlawful  assemblages 
therein. 

The  Republican  party  of  the  country  seemed  to  disavow 
the  judge's  action  and  denounce  him,  threatening  impeach- 
ment, etc.,  whereupon  he  left  the  bench  ;  but  said  party 
never  made  any  attem])t  to  right  Louisiana's  wrong.  Of  this 
order,  the  Republican  Senate  Committee,  which  investigated 
the  matter,  said  : 

"  It  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  a  more  irregular,  illegal 
and  in  every  way  inexcusable  act  on  tlie  part  of  the  judge. 
Conceding  the  power  of  the  court  to  make  such  an  order,  the 
judge,  out  of  court,  had  no  more  authority  to  make  it  than 
the  marshal.  It  has  not  even  the  form  of  judicial  }>rocess. 
It  was  not  sealed  nor  was  it  signed  by  the  clerk,  and  had  no 
more  legal  effect  than  an  order  issued  by  any  private  citizen.'' 

Let  us  add  to  this  Republican  committee's  report,  the  state- 
ment of  that  most  eminent  and  able  of  Republican  senators, 
Hon.  M.  H.  Carpenter,  of  Wisconsin  :  "  The  testimony  shows 
that  he  went  to  his  lodgings,  and  about  11  o'clock  at  night,  he 


EECOXSTRUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  415 

issued  this  order  to  seize  the  state-house.  .  .  .  The  marslial  exe- 
cuted that  order,  aud  a  company  of  Federal  troops  garrisoiied 
fhe  state-bouse  at  midnight,  and  held  it  in  military  custody 
for  more  than  six  weeks,  during  which  time  the  farce  of 
organizing  the  Legislature  on  a  mandamus  of  the  same  judo-e 
was  enacted. ^^  He  says  further  that  while  the  state-house 
remained  in  such  custody,  this  Legislature  elected  Pinchback 
United  States  Senator ;  and  that  it  was  under  such  process  of 
this  court,  and  while  the  state-house  was  thus  federally  held, 
that  the  Kellogg  Legislature  was  organized  on  the  basis  of  the 
Lynch  board's  count — which  we  may  add  was  no  count,  as  it 
had  no  votes  or  returns  whatever  to  count. 

Under  Durell's  order,  however,  two  companies  of  United 
States  artillery  took  possession  of  the  Louisiana  State  Capitol, 
ousting  the  police  and  state  troops,  and  allowing  no  one  to  enter 
the  building  except  on  an  order  from  the  United  States  Marshal. 

Within  a  few  hours,  the  Lynch  Returning  Board  promul- 
gated the  alleged  returns  of  the  election,  although  it  did  not 
have  a  single  return  or  ballot  or  scrap  of  legal  evidence 
before  it,  declaring  Kellogg  elected  by  18,861  majority,  and 
the  Legislature  to  be  106-  Republicans  to  40  Democrats. 
This  result  was  obtained  by  pure  guessing,  as  Lynch,  the 
President  of  the  so-called  Board  explained  :  *'  We  took  all  the 
evidence  we  had  before  us,  and  our  knowledge  of  the  parishes 
and  their  political  complexion,  and  then  ice  decided.  I  think 
on  the  whole  we  w^re  pretty  correct. '^ 

Among  the  data  on  which  this  honest  board  based  its  con- 
jecturing and  guessing  canvass,  were  many  hundreds  of  affida- 
vits which  were  subsequently  proved  to  be  fraudulent  and 
forged  by  the  man  who  manufactured  most  of  them. 

The  United  States  troops  guarded  the  State  Capitol  aud  pre- 
vented the  ingress  of  any  person  except  the  Lynch  Legislature. 
That  body  met,  impeached  Warmoth  inside  of  five  minutes, 
removed  him  from  office,  installed  Pinchback  as  Goveruor 
and  appealed  to  the  Federal  Government  for  more  troops. 
Kellogg  and  his  supporters  asked  the  President  for  recogni- 
tion ;  and  finally  the  order  came  commanding  the  troops  to 
sustain  Pinchback  as  Governor  and  the  Lynch  Legislature 
against  all  opposition. 


416  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

The  writer  must  here  say  that  in  a  sketch  like  tliis,  not  a 
tithe  of  the  terrible  facts  can  be  given  nor  can  proper  refer- 
ence to  authorities  be  made,  except  in  a  general  way  at  the 
conclusion  ;  but  it  is  well  here  to  refer  for  important  data,  to 
the  telegraphic  correspondence  between  New  Orleans  and 
Washington,  in  "  McPherson's  Handbook  of  Politics  for 
1874/'  pp.  100  to  108;  also /cL  pp.  129,  142;  and  to  the 
report  of  the  Senate  Conmiittee  on  privileges  and  elections, 
session  1873-4. 

Thus  Federal  power  installed  the  Kellogg  Government, 
which  had  never  been  elected,  but  did  not  give  peace  or  order 
thereby.  Kellogg,  in  some  sort,  served  out  his  term,  but  his 
rule  was  never  recognized,  except  when  backed  by  Federal 
bayonets;  and  much  friction,  controversy,  quarreling  and 
even  bloody  conflicts  were  rife  in  all  the  state,  because  of 
rival  claims  to  office. 

Kellogg  seemed  disposed  to  encourage  disturbances  of  this 
kind,  as  they  justified  his  calling  upon  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment for  troops;  and,  moreover,  diverted  the  attention  of  the 
people  from  the  fact  that  he  had  no  title  to  tlie  Governorship. 
The  two  boards  had  declared  two  sets  of  officers,  in  the  most 
of  the  parishes,  and  Kellogg  is  said  to  have  issued  two  sets 
of  commissions  in  some  instances,  leaving  it  to  tlie  rivals,  as 
he  was  reported  to  have  said,  ''  to  fight  it  out." 

By  producing  such  contentions  and  conflicts,  he  "^might 
hope  for  a  continuance  of  Federal  aid,  and  keep  the  Federal 
power  constantly  impressed  with  the  two  rival  governments, 
and  its  obligation  to  vindicate  one  of  them  ! 

It  was  this  policy  which  brought  about  the  Colfax  riot,  in 
which  so  many  lives  were  lost.  In  Grant  parish,  of  Avhich 
Colfax  is  the  seat  of  justice,  two  tickets  claimed  to  be  elected. 

Kellogg  encouraged  both  parties,  first  commissioning  the 
Nash  ticket,  as  shown  in  the  official  paper,  the  Republican, 
and  at  the  same  time,  or  afterwards,  commissioning  the  Shaw 
ticket.  Nash  was  in  possession  of  the  Court  House  ;  Shaw 
seized  and  occupied  it  in  the  night  time,  just  as  Kellogg  had 
done  the  State  House,  and  summoned  the  negroes  of  the 
parish  to  Colfax  to  act  as  a  posse  to  protect  him  in  office. 
For  three  weeks  Colfax  was  in  wild  excitement.     Some  500 


EECOXSTKUCTION  IX  LOUISIANA.  417 

negroes  crowded  into  the  town,  armed  themselves,  drilled 
erected  fortifications,  and  constructed  cannon  from  gas-pipes. 
Occasionally  they  raided  the  surrounding  couutry  for  provi- 
sions.     The  whites,  alarmed,  congregated  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  town,  all  well  armed. 

It  w^as  quite  evident  that  a  serious  conflict  was  threatened. 
Kellogg  was  appealed  to,  and  asked  to  interfere  and  prevent 
the  riot  that  was  otherwise  inevitable.  He  had  ample  time, 
— three  weeks — to  do  this,  but  declined  to  interfere.  He 
hoped,  indeed,  that  in  the  fight  the  negroes  would  be  victori- 
ous— such  was  the  view  expressed  by  the  official  paper,  the 
Republican— and  even  if  they  did  not  prove  so,  their  defeat 
would  affi)rd  him  an  excuse  for  appealing  for  Federal  protec- 
tion. ^'  The  time  is  past,''  said  the  Republican,  "  when  a 
handful  of  whites  can  frighten  a  regiment  of  colored  men." 

On  Easter  Sunday,  April  1.3th,  1873,  Sheriff  Xash,  with  a 
posse  of  whites,  undertook  to  recapture  the  Court  House, 
which  was  then  held  by  an  illegal  body  of  negroes,  for  Shaw, 
the  other  claimant  of  the  Shrievalty,  under  whose  call  the 
negroes  had  assembled  in  Colfax,  had  long  since  deserted 
them.  The  fight  over  the  Court  House  wa.s  a  long  and  bitter 
one,  63  persons — white  and  black — losing  their  lives,  and  the 
building  itself  being  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  battle. 

VII.    WARMOTH-KELLOGGISM.  ^ 

This  was  but  one  of  a  dozen  similar,  but  less  bloody,  en- 
counters which  occurred  in  the  state,  in  the  contest  over  the 
offices,  and  wdiich  were  encouraged  by  the  Governor,  to  win 
him  support  in  the  North  and  the  use  of  Federal  troops. 

A  large  majority  of  the  people  of  the  state  never  recog- 
nized Kellogg's  election,  and  he  found  himself  constrained  to 
organize  a  force  for  a  series  of  expeditions  to  establish  his 
authority.  The  Metropolitan  Police  force  was  still  further 
strengthened  and  increased  to  three  thousand  men,  and  nuis- 
tered  into  the  militia  of  the  state.  To  aid  them  in  their  in- 
vasions of  the  country  parishes,  two  steamers  were  purchased, 
and  became  the  nucleus  of  a  state  navy.  Although  nomi- 
nally the  police  force  of  New  Orleans,  and  paid  out  of  the 
27 


418  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

city  treasury,  this  standing  army  of  metropolians  was  wholly 
nnder  the  control  of  the  Governor,  and  could  be  ordered  by 
him  to  any  portion  of  the  state  on  military  duty.  One  of  the 
first  expeditions  undertaken  was  to  the  pai'ish  of  St.  Martin, 
the  property  owners  of  which  refused  to  recognize  Kellogg 
as  Governor  or  to  pay  their  taxes  to  him.  A  force  of  several 
hundred  "metropolitans,''  mounted  as  cavalry,  and  armed 
with  Springfield  rifles  and  cannon,  were  sent  on  the  state 
steamer  "  Ozark"  to  St.  Martinsville,  to  arrest  the  men  who  had 
defied  Kellogg's  authority.  The  expedition  was  a  fiiilure, 
and  the  ''metropolitans,"  after  remaining  several  days  in  the 
field,  and  exchanging  shots  with  the  natives,  ''inarched  down 
again"  to  New  Orleans.  The  leaders  of  the  tax-resisters  were 
subsequently  arrested  by  a  United  States  IMarshal,  on  blank 
warrants, charging  them  with  blank  crimes  against  blank  per- 
sons, and  brought  to  New  Orleans  before  a  United  States 
Commissioner;  and  then  discharged,  because — to  use  his  own 
words — "there  is  no  proof  to  justify  the  detention  of  the 
prisoners."  "The  affidavits  were  made  without  a  just  cause." 
But,  said  Dogberry,  consolingly,  though  "the  defendants 
have  been  unjustly  put  to  all  this  trouble  and  expense,  yet  this 
is  a  sacrifice  they  must  be  content  to  endure  for  the  good  of 
the  body  politic."  He  was  one  of  the  carpet-baggers,  but  is 
now  esteemed  by  Louisiana  as  one  of  her  "true  patriots,"  for 
he  has  "left  the  country." 

These  refusals  to  pay  the  taxes  to  the  Kellogg  Government 
seriously  incommoded  it,  and  the  Legislature,  in  consequence, 
passed  a  series  of  tax  laws  of  the  most  stringent  character. 
The  most  extraordinary  of  these  contained  a  provision  that 
any  property-holder,  failing  to  pay  his  taxes  within  thirty 
days  of  the  time  they  fell  due,  forfeited  thereby  his  right  to 
bring:  suit  for  his  own  benefit,  or  to  be  a  witness  for  or  in  his 
own  behalf;  and  every  court,  having  jurisdiction  within  the 
state,  was  ordered  to  deny  and  refuse  to  issue  a  civil  process  of 
any  kind  or  nature  for  him,  until  he  procured  a  certificate  that 
all  his  delinquent  taxes  and  costs  had  been  paid. 

All  the  iniquitous  legislation  of  the  Warmoth  regime,  such 
as  the  registration  and  election  laws,  and  the  Returning  Board, 
were   continued,  and   even   improved  on.     Kellogg  went  a 


RECOXSTKUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  419 

step  further  in  the  matter  of  the  collection  of  taxes,  and  also 
in  the  selection  of  juries.  It  was  deemed  especially  necessary 
to  monopolize  the  administration  of  the  criminal  law  of  the 
state,  and  the  Governor,  therefore,  secured,  through  an  act  of 
the  Legislature,  control  of  the  criminal  courts  by  creatino-  a 
new  one,  with  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  certain  matters;  and 
was  given,  at  the  same  time,  control  of  the  jury,  a  Commis- 
sion, consisting  of  two  members,  appointed  by  him,  and  serv- 
ing at  his  will,  having  full  control  of  drawjjjg  all  juries. 
This  was  followed  by  a  law  making  it  a  crime  for  any  one  to 
claim  to  be  an  officer  of  the  state  unless  declared  elected  by 
the  Returning  Board. 

Such  legislation,  the  Republicans  thought,  increased  their 
strength,  so  that  they  could  henceforward  do  as  they  pleased. 
They  could,  however,  do  little  more  in  the  way  of  issuino- 
bonds,  as,  owing  to  the  enormous  debt,  they  were  worth  but 
twenty-five  per  cent.  Under  these  circumstances,  a  happy 
device  was  invented  by  Kellogg,  and  put  in  practicable  shape, 
Avhich  was  to  heavily  scale  the  debt,  and  begin  anew.  It  was, 
therefore,  reduced  forty  per  cent.,  and,  in  the  funding  and 
exchange  for  new  bonds,  which  it  was  provided  should  be 
done  by  the  chief  officers  of  the  administration,  many  frauds, 
and  speculations,  (almost  equally  criminal  with  simple  frauds), 
were  proved  to  have  been  committed — many  being  detailed 
in  legislative  and  official  reports  not  long  afterwards.  One 
of  them — an  enormity — requires  a  more  extended  notice,  be- 
cause it  shows  the  possibilities  of  Congressional  reconstruction 
and  political  gypsy  ism  combined;  and  teaches  us  an  invaluable 
lesson — unless  the  gods,  aiming  to  destroy  us,  have  made  us 
mad.  This  funding  board,  having  discretionary  power,  funded 
some  $6,000,000  of  bonds  alleged  to  have  been  fraudulent, 
as  a  very  large  amount  of  them  were  proved  to  have  been. 
It  was  charged,  and  generally  believed,  that  some  of  these 
chief  officers  combined  with  brokers  and  speculators  in  buy- 
ing up  fraudulent  and  dishonored  securities,  and  warrants  of 
doubtful  validity,  at  very  low  rates,  and  funding  and  ex- 
changing them  for  new  bonds ;  and  it  was  said  and  believed 
that  the  net  profits  of  the  transaction  were  about,  or  over, 
$3,000,000. 


420  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

The  facts  would  have  come  out  a  year  or  two  later,  when 
the  Democrats  came  into  power,  but  for  their  finding  that 
George  B.  Johnson,  the  Auditor  under  Kellogg,  had  taken 
away  or  embezzled  all  the  books  of  the  office,  containing  the 
evidence  of  the  bonds,  &c.,  funded,  thus  making  it  impossible 
to  expose  fully  the  frauds  that  might  have  been  committed, 
or  to  discriminate  between  the  good  and  the  bad  debt.  A 
committee  of  the  Legislature,  which  investigated  this  fund- 
ing,  found  tl^it  this  important  body,  though  its  duty  was  to 
fund  the  many  millions  of  the  state  debt,  and  though  it  was 
trusted  with  control  and  issuance  of  many  millions  of  dollars 
of  State  Bonds,  had  no  office  of  its  own,  and  no  fixed  ])lace 
of  business ;  but  met,  from  time  to  time,  in  different  offices 
in  the  state-house  and  elsewhere.  On  one  occasion  it  met  in 
New  York,  and  did  some  business  in  funding  fraudulent  secu- 
rities, as  afterwards  transpired.  It  kept  but  a  meagre  and 
imperfect  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and  even  this  was  full 
of  interlineations,  alterations  and  corrections  in  different 
handwriting,  with  blank  places  left  here  and  there,  as  if  for 
filling  up  with  additional  matter.  The  legislative  committee 
found  it  impossible  to  determine  what  bonds  were  destroyed, 
or  what  new  ones  had  been  issued,  nor  could  they  feel  assured 
that  a  large  number,  or  even  all  of  those  funded,  had  not 
been  reissued.  The  opportunities  for  fraud  can  be  easily  im- 
agined, while  detection  and  even  knowledge  of  its  extent  were 
forefended  by  the  destruction  or  embezzlement  of  all  the  records. 

The  opportunities  for  spoliation  were  passing  away.  The 
state  had  been  so  impoverished  that  it  was  impossible  to 
wring  as  much  money  from  it  as  before,  and  the  assessment 
during  the  last  two  years  of  Kellogg's  regime  reached  the 
lowest  limit  known  since  1830. 

Despite  all  his  stringent  laws,  Kellogg  never  exercised  full 
dominion  over  Louisiana.  Collisions  between  the  metropoli- 
tans and  constabulary  and  the  people,  frequently  occurred, 
and  severe  battles  took  place  in  the  streets  of  New  Orleans. 
How  weak  and  hollow  the  government  was,  soon  became 
evident.  Thanks  to  the  United  States  troops  and  the  metro- 
politans, Kellogg  had  preserved  a  semblance  of  power  ;  but  a 
single  defeat  annihilated  his  government  in  a  few  hours. 


EECUNSTRUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  421 

In  the  campaign  of  1874  the  white  people  of  Lonisiana 
organized  under  the  name  of  the  White  League.  In  Xew 
Orleans  this  League  proposed  to  arm  itself.  KeHoctr^  ^vho 
thought  himself  stronger  than  he  really  was,  attempted  to 
prevent  this  preparation,  and  to  seize  arms  belonging  to  pri- 
vate individuals.  The  crisis  was  reached  September  14tli, 
1874,  when  Kellogg  attempted  to  prevent  the  landing  of 
arms  from  the  steamer  **  Mississippi,"  and  the  White  League  to 
secure  them.  He  ordered  his  entire  police  force  to  the  river 
front,  stationed  his  cannon  on  the  levee,  and  stationed  cav- 
alry in  the  adjacent  streets.  He  had  two  regiments  of  me- 
tropolitans, under  Generals  Longstreet  and  Badger,  on  Canal 
Street,  the  principal  thoroughfare  of  the  city,  besides  a  regi- 
ment of  militia  at  the  state-house.  His  police  marched  on 
the  citizens ;  the  two  forces  met  on  the  levee,  and  a  bloody 
battle  ensued,  in  which  forty  were  killed  and  one  hundred 
wounded. 

The  hollowness  of  the  Kellogg  government  became  at  once 
conspicuous.  In  twenty-four  hours,  and  without  another 
drop  of  bloodshed,  the  Kellogg  state  and  parish  governments 
were  overthrown  throughout  Louisiana,  and  the  officials 
elected  on  the  McEnery  ticket  installed.  Nowhere  did  any 
one,  white  or  black,  attempt  to  support  Kellogg,  or  make  the 
slis: litest  resistance  to  the  chang-e.  He  himself  fled  to  the 
custom-house,  and  his  officers  dispersed  everywhere.  This 
change  lasted  but  a  few  days.  From  the  custom-house,  Kel- 
logg appealed  to  the  President  for  assistance.  The  United 
States  officer  in  command  at  New^  Orleans,  wos  instructed  to 
interfere  in  his  behalf,  and  to  reseat  him  in  the  gubernatorial 
chair.  At  the  head  of  the  Federal  troops  he  captured  the 
State-house,  and  Kellogg  resumed  his  government  surrounded 
by  bayonets.  But  although  reinstated,  his  government  was 
weaker  and  more  tottering  than  ever,  and  without  the  spirit 
it  had  previously  shown. 

In  the  election  of  1874,  which  followed  soon  after,  the 
Democrats  sw^ept  the  state,  and  secured  a  good  majority  in 
the  Legislature.  Again  the  Returning  Board  interfcrGd, 
and,  by  throwing  out  many  polls  and  a  number  of  parisiies, 
manufactured  a  Republican  Legislature. 


422  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

When  the  Legislature  met,  the  Democrats  secured  control 
of  the  House,  whereupon  Kellogg  adopted  his  old  trick,  and 
called  on  the  Federal  officer  in  command,  Gen.  DeTrobriand, 
to  interfere.  A  company  of  armed  soldiers  then  entered  and 
took  possession  of  the  Legislative  hall,  and,  at  the  dictation 
of  the  Governor,  a  number  of  Democrats  who  had  been 
elected,  were  arrested  and  marched  out  of  the  state -house 
between  squads  of  armed  soldiers.  For  days  it  looked  as 
thouirh  a  serious  riot  was  imminent,  for  larjxe  crowds  of  ex- 
cited  citizens  collected  around  the  state-house.  The  pres- 
ence of  the  United  States  troops  alone  prevented  a  collision 
and  the  overthrow  of  the  Kellogg  government. 

When  the  matter  was  finallv  investi<i:ated  bv  a  Cono:res- 
sional  Committee,  a  majority  of  which  were  Republicans,  and 
over  which  Wheeler,  subsequently  Republican  candidate  for 
the  Vice-Presidency,  presided,  it  denounced  in  strong  but 
proper  terras  the  action  of  the  Returning  Board,  and  declared 
a  majority  of  the  Democratic  members  of  the  House  elected. 
The  Wheeler  compromise,  hov/ever,  ouly  postponed  the  fiual 
collapse ;  it  could  not  give  life  or  power  to  the  Kellogg  gov- 
ernment, and  as  the  election  of  1876  drew  nigh,  it  became 
more  and  more  evident  that  the  only  hope  of  the  Louisiana 
Republicans  lay  in  a  large  force  of  United  States  troops. 

These  troops  had  been  used  in  1872  in  seizing  the  state 
capitol,  ousting  Warmoth  and  installing  the  Lynch  Return- 
ing Board  ;  they  were  used  again  in  keeping  Pinch  back  in 
the  gubernatorial  office,  and  in  dispersing  the  McEnery 
Legislature;  they  had  installed  Kellogg  as  Governor,  and 
defended  the  state-house  until  his  government  was  in  work- 
ing order.  Again,  in  1873,  these  troops  were  called  on 
when  the  metropolitans  had  failed  to  arrest  the  white  leaders 
in  St.  Martin,  and  Gen.  De  Blanc  and  others  were  arrested  by 
the  United  States  marshals,  and  brought  to  New  Orleans. 
They  were  called  into  use  in  arresting  the  Grant  parish  pris- 
oners, and  raiding  other  parishes  and  bringing  a  number  of 
their  leading  citizens  to  New  Orleans.  United  States  troops 
dispersed,  on  Sept.  17th,  1874,  the  McEnery  state  government, 
which  had  been  installed  by  the  people,  and  reinstated  Kel- 
logg; they  invaded  the  state-house  again  in  January,  1875, 


EECONSTEUCTION  IX  LOUISIANA.  493 

dispersed  the  legal  Legislature,  arresting  and  ousting  a  num- 
ber of  members. 

These  frequent  military  interferences  strengthened  Kellogg 
in  the  idea  that  he  could  use  the  United  States  troops,  and 
that  his  government  depended  on  them  for  its  existence.  His 
telegrams  to  Washington  were  always  for  more  troops,  and 
still  more  troops,  and  his  instructions  to  the  Generals,  com- 
manding, showed  that  he  deemed  them  under  his  command. 
Here  are  some  of  his  instructions  to  General  De  Trobriand  : 
"Please  move  your  troops  up  to  the  State  House.'^ 

''Please  place  sentinels  at  the  entrance  of  the  State  House." 

"An  illegal  assembly  of  men  having  taken  possession  of 
the  House  of  Pepresentatives,  and  the  ])olice  being  unable  to 
dislodge  them,  I  respectfully  request  that  you  immediately 
clear  the  Hall  and  State  House  of  all  persons  not  returned  as 
legal  members  by  the  Peturning  Board  of  the  state.  The 
clerk  will  point  out  to  you  the  persons  returned  by  the  legal 
Board.^' 

Kellogg  w^as  thus  the  commanding  officer  of  the  United 
States  forces  in  Louisiana,  and  the  latter  performed  all  the 
duties  of  a  state  police  force  or  constabulary. 

Gen.  P.  H.  Sheridan,  who  had  been  sent  to  Louisiana  to 
view  the  situation,  in  his  telegram  to  the  Secretary  of  A\'ar, 
suo^o-ested  that  confidence  and  fair  deal  in  2;  could  be  established 
in  Louisiana  by  the  arrest  and  trial  of  the  ringleaders  of  the 
armed  White  Leae:ues.  He  urs^ed  that  thev  should  be  declared 
banditti,  and  tried  by  a  military  commission.  "  It  is  possi- 
ble," he  telegraphed,  "that  if  the  President  would  issue  a 
proclamation  declaring  them  banditti,  no  further  action  would 
be  taken,  except  that  which  would  devolve  on  me." 

Gfen.  Sheridan,  innocent  of  political  guile,  was,  as  the 
writer  saw,  surrounded  by  a  living,  sentient,  greedy  and  cun- 
ning wall,  interested  to  keep  from  him  the  truth,  and  to  pre- 
serve the  status  quo.  They  had  convinced  him,  and,  induced 
him  to  so  inform  the  government,  that  1500  murders  of 
union-men  and  negroes — political  murders — had  been  com- 
mitted in  Louisiana  since  1868.  This  writer,  deeply  anxious 
for  his  commonwealth,  but  belonging  to  no  party,  careiully, 
but  quietly  investigated,  in  two  or  three  of  the  parishes  where 


424  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

he  had  the  best  of  means  of  getting  the  truth.  As  to  one  of 
them,  he  wrote  thus  to  the  Picayune^  January  11th,  1875: 
"  If  he  will  come  [to  Plaquemines  Parish]  and  ask  the  negroes 
for  aid  [in  gathering  statistics]  he  will  get  many  facts  that  will 
not  quadrate  with  his  theory  ;  ...  he  will  find  a  score  of 
murders  of  negroes  in  this  parish,  within  the  last  year,  most 
brutally  done  by  negroes,  while  not  a  negro  has  been  killed 
by  a  white  man." 

The  above  telegram  received  the  approval  of  the  President; 
and,  with  such  a  display  of  spirit,  and  the  probability  that  it 
would  be  backed  by  adequate  military  force,  the  Louisiana 
Republicans  decided  to  make  the  campaign  of  1876  a  military 
one.  Between  500  and  600  persons  had  been  arrested  in  the 
state  at  various  times  during  Kellogg's  rigimey  and  brought 
by  the  United  States  troops  or  marslials  to  New  Orleans. 
They  had  suffered  great  losses  thereby,  had  been  taken  from 
their  business  and  imprisoned  ;  but,  in  every  instance,  when 
the  cases  against  them  were  examined  in  court,  all  charges 
against  them  were  dismissed.  Many  parishes  suffered  from 
these  wholesale  arrests,  which  were  generally  made  on  blank 
warrants. 

VIII.     THE    FINAL   STRUGGLE   FOR  SUPREMACY. 

The  campaign  of  1876  was  more  excited  and  bitter  than 
any  of  its  predecessors,  and  the  Kellogg  government  used  its 
influence  with  the  Federal  Administration  as  far  as  possible. 
North  Louisiana,  in  which  the  population  was  more  largely 
white  and  Democratic,  was  filled  with  United  States  Marshals, 
accompanied  by  posses  of  soldiers.  Citizens  were  arrested 
without  cause,  carried  several  hundred  miles  to  New  Orleans, 
and  after  long  delay  and  great  expense,  they  were  set  at  liberty 
without  even  a  preliminary  hearing.  These  arrests  were  made 
on  a  great  variety  of  charges.  A  number  of  citizens  were 
dragged  to  jail  because  they  were  alleged  to  have  discharged 
colored  employees  who  supported  the  oppressive  Kellogg  gov- 
ernment. 

Gov.  Kellogg  prepared  for  the  election  of  1876  by  sending 
State  and  Federal  officials  to  the  parishes  to  conduct  the  reg- 


KECONSTRUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  425 

istration  and  count  the  votes.  Clover,  who  had  manafred  a 
snake  show  in  New  Orleans,  went  to  Baton  Rouge  as  supervi- 
sor of  elections,  after  having  made  a  written  contract  with 
Nash,  the  Republican  candidate  for  Congress,  that  he  was  to 
receive  the  place  of  naval  officer  for  New  Orleans,  in  case  he 
managed  the  election  well.  James  E.  Scott,  a  clerk  in  the 
New  Orleans  post-office,  went  to  Claiborne  as  supervisor, 
counted  the  vote  there,  threw  out  five  polls,  and  returned  to 
New  Orleans  to  fill  his  clerkship  again.  James  E.  Anderson 
employed  in  the  United  States  Custom  House,  went  as  super- 
visor of  registration  to  East  Feliciana,  and  so  it  was  with 
nearly  all  the  country  supervisors.  They  were  mostly  Federal 
employees,  who  had  never  before  been  in  the  parishes  where 
they  were  to  hold  the  election. 

Many  of  the  New  Orleans  supervisors,  also,  were  Federal 
officials.  W.  J.  Moore,  of  the  seventh  ward,  was  not  only 
supervisor,  but  held  two  Federal  offices  at  the  same  time, 
having  a  regular  clerkship,  besides  receiving  pay  as  night 
inspector.  P.  J.  Maloney  in  the  fourteenth,  H.  Leon  in  the 
eighth.  Napoleon  Underwood  in  the  twelfth,  A.  J.  Brion  in 
the  second,  R.  C.  Howard  in  the  fourth,  and,  indeed,  with 
few  exceptions,  all  the  other  registratian  and  election  officers 
were  Federal  officials 

It  was  shown  in  the  case  of  Anderson  of  East  Feliciana, 
that  a  regular  contract  signed  and  witnessed,  was  made  between 
him  and  the  negro  candidate  for  Congress,  Nash,  as  to  tlie 
election  in  the  parish,  over  which  he  had  charge,  and  it  is 
presumable  that  similar  contracts  were  made  with  other 
supervisors. 

At  no  time  in  the  history  of  Lousiana,  not  even  in  the  first 
days  of  reconstruction,  had  the  Federal  Government  interfered 
so  unreservedly  with  state  affiiirs.  Federal  troops  had  installed 
Kellogg,  and  kept  him  in  office.  Federal  Marshals  and  troops 
were  raiding  North  Louisiana  and  making  wholesale  arrests; 
and  Federal  officials,  clerks  in  the  post-office  and  custom 
house,  were  conducting  the  registration,  and  holding  the  elec- 
tion. 

These  wrongs,  and  the  use  of  the  United  States  troops,  did 
not,  however,  benefit  the  Kellogg  government  in  the  least. 


426  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

On  the  contrary,  they  aroused  the  people,  and  in  the  election 
in  Novxnuber,  187(i,  the  Democratic  state  and  national  ticket 
carried  Louisiana  by  an  average  majority  of  8,000. 

Then,  for  the  third  time,  the  Returning  Board  came  into 
play,  and  the  old  method  was  resorted  to  of  throwing  out 
enough  polls  and  parishes  to  make  the  state  and  Legislature 
Republican.  It  so  happened,  however,  that  the  National 
election  depended  on  the  vote  of  Louisiana,  and  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Returning  Board  of  1876  were  therefore  watched 
by  the  whole  country,  and  its  history  made  known.  All  the 
facts  came  out,  and  the  people  of  the  United  States  then 
learned  how  Louisiana  elections  had  been  mannged  in  the 
past.  They  learned  that  the  election  machinery  had  been 
placed  in  the  hands  of  low  and  mercenary  adventurers ;  that 
the  supervisors  of  election  contracted  in  advance  with  the 
candidates,  as  to  how  the  votes  should  be  cast ;  they  learned 
how  the  returns  were  '*  doctored,'^  and  how  forged  returns 
and  affidavits  were  secured  whenever  this  Avas  necessary.  It 
was  shown  that  George  L.  Smith,  candidate  for  Congress  in 
the  Fourth  District,  was  given  blank  appointments  to  all 
the  election  offices  in  the  District,  and  that  the  returns  of 
DeSota  parish  were  sent  privately  to  him,  and  examined  and 
doctored  before  being  turned  over  to  the  Returning  Board  ; 
and  that  the  returns  of  Bossier,  Webster  and  other  parishes 
were  similarly  opened  and  doctored — a  fact  that  was  devel- 
oped by  a  misdate.  Ballot-box  stuffing,  falsification  of 
returns,  forgery  and  other  crimes,  were  clearly  shown  upon  the 
investigation;  but  this  matters  little.  The  Democrats  had 
carried  the  state  by  8,000  majority,  but  wdien  the  Returning 
Board  got  through  with  its  supervisory  work,  it  had  manu- 
factured a  Republican  majority  of  9,000,  and  created  a 
Republican  Legislature. 

The  rival  state  governments — one  headed  by  Nicholls, 
elected  by  the  popular  vote,  and  tlie  other  by  Packard,  for- 
merly United  States  Marshal — both  organized  in  January, 
1877,  but  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Packard  government  was 
restricted  to  the  State  House.  From  January  to  March — 
for  three  months — Louisiana  remained  in  this  condition,  with 
two  Governors,  two  Legislatures  and  two  Supreme  Courts. 


RECONSTKUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  497 

A  conflict  was  prevented  only  by  the  presence  in  force  of 
United  States  troops,  stationed  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
the  State  House.  During  all  this  period,  the  Packard  govern- 
ment was  in  a  state  ot  siege.  Over  a  thousand  negro  ad- 
herents of  the  Packard  government  lived  and  ate  and  slept  in 
the  state  capitol.  The  building  became  extremely  iilthv  and 
dangerous  to  the  public  health,  and  finally  small- pox  broke 
out  among  the  crowded  inmates.  But  the  leaders  held  on, 
clinging  to  the  hope  that  the  Federal  government  would 
again  interfere,  and,  as  in  the  case  ot*  Kellogg,  induct 
Packard  into  office. 

After  a  strained  condition  which  existed  for  months,  and 
might  at  any  time  have  precipitated  a  general  riot  and 
even  civil  war,  the  president  decided  to  abandon  the  policy 
of  military  interference,  and  withdraw  the  troops. 

The  weakness  of  the  Packard  regime  then  became  patent. 
The  State  Government  fell  to  pieces,  the  moment  the  Federal 
troops  were  withdrawn.  Packard,  who  claimed  to  be  Gov- 
ernor, left  Louisiana  never  to  return;  and  most  of  the 
political  gypsies,  who,  in  the  sorrowful  decade  just  past,  had 
led  the  Republican  party  in  its  career  of  spoliation,  riot 
and  lawlessness,  were  scattered  far  and  wide,  each  resuming 
his  habit  to  "  swing  his  pot  and  ])itch  his  tent  wherever 
he  saw  a  prospect  of  [public]  plunder."  On  the  departure  of 
the  United  States  troops,  the  Eepublican  party  of  Louisi- 
ana was  no  more. 

The  Vampire  Warmothism 

had  reduced  the  assessment  or  wealth  of  New  Orleans  from 
$146,718,790  at  Warmoth's  advent,  to  $88,613,930  at  Kel- 
logg's  exit,  a  net  decline  of  $58,104,860  in  eight  years ; 
while  real  estate  in  the  country  parishes,  had  shrunk  in  value 
from  $99,266,839.85  to  $47,141,696,  or  about  one-half. 
During  this  period,  the  Republican  leaders  had  squandered 
nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions,  giving  the  state  little 
or  nothing  to  show  therefor.  The  state  debt  was  increased 
more  than  $40,000,000,  and  that  of  the  city  about  $ll\0U0,- 
000.     Forty   per  cent,  of  the  former  had  been  repudiated, 


428  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 

aud,  in  the  redemption  of  it  with  new  bonds,  many  millions 
had  disappeared  and  been  lost  to  the  state.  The  increase  of 
taxation  had  been  manifold — in  many  parts  eight-fold — 
reaching  5,  6,  7  and  even  8  per  cent,  in  some  places.  City 
property  depreciated  40,  and  country  50  per  cent.  Such  is 
the  Republican  financial  record. 

Of  course,  a  standing  army — infantry,  cavalry  and  artillery 
— all  at  the  expense  of  the  victims — was  required  to  defend 
such  despotism,  the  cost  being  about  a  million  a  year.  A 
navy  was  needed,  too,  and  the  "  Ozark  '^  bore  the  broad  pen- 
nant, with  one  other  state  vessel  for  the  squadron.  The 
viceroy  could  have,  on  call,  United  States  troo})s  and  United 
States  Deputy  Marshals.  Federal  soldiers  were  used  at  the 
elections,  and  for  making  arrests;  and  a  Federal  fleet,  at 
times,  with  spring  cables,  and  guns  loaded  with  death  and 
devastation,  menaced  New  Orleans.  In  the  vice-regal  reign, 
nearly  2000  Federal  arrests — mostly  of  the  better  classes — • 
were  made ;  but  after  some  imprisonment  or  restraint,  were 
released  as  soon  as  tried.  Yet  all  this  failed  to  keep  order; 
and  the  state  Government  twice  went  to  pieces  before  a  popu- 
lar demonstration. 

AVarmothism  seemed  to  begin  and  gradually  grow  to  fat- 
ness with  wrong-doing  ;  and  (possibly  designing  it),  by  es- 
tablishing lotteries  and  public  gambling  in  18G8,  it  drew 
from  all  abroad  the  dregs  of  population,  and  thereby  fur- 
nished itself  with  an  ample  su})ply  of  trained  rascals  for 
tools. 

For  a  year,  gambling  in  New  Orleans  was  public,  like  any 
other  business,  and  open  to  minors,  women,  or  any  others. 
Gamblers  and  their  congeners  flocked  in  from  everywhere, 
and  the  city  became  like  a  wild  frontier  town.  Despite  War- 
mothism,  however,  the  moral  force  of  society  brought  it  to 
an  end,  except  the  Louisiana  Lottery,  which,  then  chartered 
for  twenty-five  years,  now  exhibits  to  all  the  land  one  of  the 
moral  beauties  of  that  regime.  At  all  events  misgovernment, 
lawlessness,  robbery,  peculation,  bribery  and  corruption  then 
began  to  flourish  as  never  before ;  and  Warmoth  seemed 
rather  proud  of  his  ^'  bad  eminence.^'  With  flagitious  can- 
dor he  bore  such  testimony  as  this:     *^In  the  Legislature" 


KECONSTKUCTION  IN  LOUISIANA.  429 

of  1870  (which  he  had  elected),  he  said  there  was  "hut  one 
honest  man.''  "  Corruption  is  the  fashion/'  he  remarked  to 
a  delegation  that  waited  on  him;  ''I  do  not  pretend  to  be 
honest,  but  only  as  honest  as  anybody  in  politics." 

An  adventurer,  without  a  dollar,  he  was  said  to  be  worth 
a  quarter  of  a  million  within  a  year  of  his  election  ;  and 
though  his  salary  was  $8000  a  year,  he  was,  at  retiring,  re- 
puted to  have  one  of  the  largest  fortunes  in  Louisiana.  His 
successor,  Kellogg,  Avent  and  did  likewise,  retiring,  it  was 
said,  with  half  a  million ! 

The  example  of  "  making  haste  to  be  rich "  was  not  fol- 
lowed by  their  Democratic  successors.  Kicholls,  twice  Gov- 
ernor, became  steadily  poorer  while  in  service.  Wiltz,  who 
died  in  the  office,  was  so  poor  that  his  friends  had  to  make  a 
subscription  for  his  widow  and  children;  while  Governor  S. 
D.  McEnery,  after  serving  seven  years,  left  the  gubernatorial 
chair  with  greatly  diminished  means. 

The  writer  begs  leave  to  say,  in  conclusion,  that  this  sketch 
of  robbery  and  infamy  is  based  mainly  on  Republican  data, 
as  has  been  indicated  ;  on  the  statutes  and  committee  reports 
of  the  Legislature ;  on  auditors'  official  documents ;  on  the 
facts  found  and  stated  by  Congressional  Republican  Commit- 
tees, who  were  sent  to  see  and  report  on  the  workings  of 
reconstruction  ;  on  the  speeches  of  leading  Republican  states- 
men, and  on  the  facts  given  by  leading  Republican  papers. 

The  writer  begs  leave  to  say  further,  that  he  belongs  to  no 
party,  but  feels  that  he  has  a  right  to  plead  for  his  common- 
wealth, as  one  of  the  integers  of  our  political  system,  and  vin- 
dicate her  rights  and  immunities,  just  as  he  would  (regardless 
of  sentiment)  tSose  of  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Penn- 
sylvania, or  Delaw^are ;  'for  his  hope  and  prayer  is  that  they 
and  all  their  sisters,  old  and  young,  will  be,  down  to  the  last 
syllable  of  recorded  time,  among  "the  several  states  which 
may  he  included  tvithin  this  union'' — to  use  the  words  of  the 
compact  (Article  I.)  describing  the  "essential  component  parts 
of  the  Union,"  as  Hamilton  declared  the  states  to  be. 

B.  J.  Sage. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SUNRISE. 

PROSPERITY  FOI,I.OWS  THE  RESTORATION   OF  GOOD   GOVERNMENT. 

THE  days  during  whicli  the  reconstruction  governments 
ruled  in  the  several  Southern  states  were  the  darkest 
that  ever  shrouded  any  portion  of  our  country. 

The  slaughter  and  the  sacrifices  during  our  great  civil  war 
were  terrible  indeed,  but  those  dark  days  were  lighted  by 
the  shining  valor  of  the  patriot  soldier  ;  the  storm  clouds 
were  gilded  with  glory. 

But  there  was,  in  the  scenes  faintly  pictured  in  the  prece- 
ding portion  of  this  book,  nothing  but  wretchedness  and 
humiliation,  and  shame,  and  crime  begetting  crime.  There 
was  no  single  redeeming  feature,  exce])t  the  heroic  determina- 
tion of  the  better  classes  in  the  several  states  to  restore  good 
government.  Their  constancy  as  we  have  seen  was  at  last, 
in  each  case,  rewarded. 

Tiie  results  are  best  shown  by  figures  which  we  take  by 
permission  from  the  Manufacturers^  Record,  of  Baltimore, 
Md.,  of  December  21,  1889.  In  a  special  number  of  this 
able  paper,  the  editor  has  compiled  many  tables  of  figures, 
showing  in  great  detail  that  the  South  is  now  growing  more 
rapidly  than  the  remainder  of  the  country  in  the  production 
of  pig  iron,  the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods,  the  building  of 
railroads,  the  building  of  industrial  towns  and  cities,  the 
mining  of  coal,  the  manufacture  of  lumber,  the  raising  of 
grain,  the  establishment  of  National  Banks,  and  the  accumu- 
lation of  money.  The  Record  is  not  a  political  paper.  The 
figures  were  gathered  and  compiled  for  business  men.  The 
article  is  headed 

430 


SUNRISE.  431 

THE  SOUTH'S  REDEMPTION. 

FROM   POVERTY   TO   PROSPERITY. 

In  1860  the  Richest  Part  of  the  Country — In  1870  the 

Poorest — In  1880  Signs  of  Improvement — In 

1889  Regainhig  the  Position  of  1860. 

Its  purpose  is  to  show  the  comparative  progress  made 
North  and  South  during  the  last  decade;  and  no  period  could 
be  selected  that  would  more  fitly  represent  the  contra^^t  be- 
tween the  South  under  present  auspices  and  when  under  re- 
construction influences.  When  1880  began  prosperity  was 
commencing.  The  night  had  passed  away  and  the  morning 
of  a  brighter  day  was  upon  us.  The  Southern  States  were 
fast  recovering  from  the  immediate  blighting  effects  of  mis- 
government. 

The  first  table  presented  is  of  assessed  values : 

The  assessed  value  of  property  in  the  South,  as  already  stated,  was 
12,100,000,000  less  in  1870  than  in  1860,  while  in  tlie  rest  of  the  country 
there  was  an  increase  of  over  §4,000.000,000  during  that  decade.  Not  until 
about  1876  were  there  any  decided  indications  of  a  change  for  the  better 
in  the  vSouth.  By  1879-80  an  improvement  was  seen,  and  it  is  since  that 
time  that  the  most  marked  progress  has  been  made.  That  this  progress 
has  been  phenomenal,  and  especially  when  the  poverty  of  this  section  at 
that  time  is  taken  into  account,  the  statistics  given  in  this  issue  of  tlie 
Manufacturers'  Record  wall  certainly  make  plain.  A  comparison  of  the 
assessed  value  of  property,  by  States,  in  1880  and  1889,  gives  the  fol- 
lowing : 

1880.  1889.  Increase. 

Maryland $459,187,408  $477,398,380  $18,210,972 

Virginia 303,997,613  *344,169,473  40,171,860 

North  Carolina 169,916,907  217,000,000  47,083,093 

South  Carolina 129,551 624  145,280,343  15,728,343 

Georgia 251,424,651  380,289,314  128,864,663 

Florida 31,157,846  93,800,000  62,642.154 

Alabama 139,077,328  242,197,531  103,120.203 

Mississippi 115,130,651  157,830,431  42,699,780 

Louisiana 177,096,459  226,392,288  49,295,S27 

Texas 311,470,736  710,000,000  398.529,264 

Arkansas 91,191,653  166,000,000  74,808,347 

Tennessee 211,768,438  325,118,636  113..350.198 

West  Virginia  .    ......  146,991,740  183,013,737  36,021.997 

Kentucky 375,473,041  551,676,267  176,203,226 

Total $2,913,436,095    $4,220,166,400    $1,306,729,927 


432 


WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 


The  Census  report  of  1879-80  estimated  tliat  tlie  assessed  value  of  pro- 
perty in  the  South  was  only  41  per  cent,  of  the  true  value.  On  this  basis 
the  true  vahie  of  property"^  in  the  South  in  1880  was  $7,105  917,300,  and 
the  value  at  present  $10,293,088,700— a  gain  of  over  $3,000,000,000. 

The  editor  then  gives  statistics  showing  progress  in  each  of 
the  States  in  everything  going  to  make  up  the  following 
table ;  but  space  will  only  be  taken  here  to  give  the  sum- 
mary, as  follows : 

1889. 
1880.  (Partly  Estimated.) 

Assessed  value  of  property $2,913,430,095        $4,220,106,400 

Kailroad  mileage 19,431  40,250 

Cost  of  railroads 079,000,000  1,500  000,000 

Yield  of  cotton,  bales 5,755,359  7,250,000 

Yield  of  grain,  bushels 431,074,030  675,000,000 

Number  of  farm  animals 28,754,243  45,592,536 

Value  of  livestock 391,412,254  569,161,550 

Value  of  C///V/ agricultural  products   .    .  571,098,454  850,000,000 

Coal  mined,  tons 6,049,471  22,000,000 

Pig  iron  produced,  tons 397,301  1,600,000 

Number  of  cotton  mills 161  355 

"    spindles 667,854  2,035,268 

"     looms _ 14,323  45,000 

"     cotton-seed  oil  mills  ....  40  213 

Capital  invested  in  cotton-seed  oil  mill^  .  3,504,000  20,000,000 

Number  of  National  Banks 220  472 

Capital  of  National  Banks 45,597,730  76,454,510 

The  figures,  however,  as  to  banking,  deposits,  profits,  &c., 
are  so  important  that  they  must  be  given  in  full.  These  con- 
stitute the  most  infallible  test  of  the  condition  of  the  country. 
Following  is  the  statement  by  geographical  division  : 

NORTH,  1879. 

NO.  OF  gTATE  CAPITAL  SURPITJS  VNDIVIDED  LOANS  AND  INDIVIDUAL 

B.iNKS.  ■  STOCK.  '       *  PROFITS.  DISCOUNTS.  DEPOSITS. 

69  Maine $10,435,000  $  2,430,771  $  1,243,310  8  14,914,532  S  8,194,218 

47  New  Hampshire  .  5,830,000  1,080,072  503,800  7,138,376  3,943,933 

47  Vermont   ....  8,301,000  1,94'>,151  557,821  10,080,253  5,037,891 

*188  Maspachusetts  .    .  45,105,000  12.613,406  3,223,254  73,313,493  39,314,00!) 

54  Boston 50,50!t,f)00  10,016,144  2,247,975  113,170,321  70,727,680 

CI  Hhode  Island  .    .  20,(09,800  3,603, '■52  1,087,086  26,1.31,711  8,908,878 

84  Connecticut  .    .    .  25.404,020  6,008,169  1,460,611  39,852,9.'^1  21,146,046 

*242  New  York  State  ,  32  897,160  7,704,249  4,477,685  67,210,314  59,.339,863 

47  New  York  City    .  50,65(',ono  18  185,383  10,390,427  238,495,325  212,044,721 

7  Albany,  N.  Y.  .    .  1,800,000  1,4' 0.000  192,785  7,388,023  6.110,018 

06  New  Jersey  .    .    .  12,995,350  3,703,071  1,389,983  20,490,480  24,524,830 

*180  Pennsylvania    .   .  28,945,^^40  7,074,001  2.547,4' 9  47,729,528  45,928,(i77 

32  Philadelphia     .   .  17,358,000  7,654,090  1,825,876  54,418,619  57,918,373 

22  Pittsburg    ....  9,850,000  3,071,462  618,856  19,665,846  15,714.975 

14  Delaware   ....  1,763,985  475,794  138,078  3,317,887  3,056,545 

1166  $321,905,255     ?88,182,821      f  31,91 1,066      £749,329,642     5611,910,657 

*  Exclusive  of  r'.seivc  cities. 


SUNRISE. 


433 


SOUTH,  1879. 


^°-  °*"  STATE 

BANKS.  ^^^^^• 

*20  Maryland  . 
15  Baltimore  . 
*1  Dist.  of  Columbia 

5  Ma-hiiigton  . 
17  Virginia  .  .  . 
17  West  Virginia  . 
15  North  Carolina 

12  South  Carolina 

13  Georgia  .  . 
2  Florida  .  . 
9  Alabama     . 

.   .    Mississippi 
.   .    Louisiana  . 

7  New  Orleans 
13  Texas      .   . 

2  Arkansas   . 
*41   Kenturky  . 

8  Louisville 
23  Tennessee  .   , 

220 


CAPITAL 

STOCK. 

i  2,331,700 
10,89u,.-i30 

2o2,(X)0 
1,125,000 
2,866,100 
1,761,000 
2,501,000 
2,449,900 
2,221,000 

100,000 
1,518,000 


2,875,000 
1,300,000 
205,000 
7,201,0  0 
2,995,300 
3,005,500 


SURPLUS. 

8    690,815 

2,4-'9,744 

57,(i'X) 

272,500 

8^2,890 

435,882 

319,697 

368,359 

431,803 

2,000 

221,365 


570,009 
278,548 
40,000 
1,142,803 
36!l,064 
555,939 


UNDIVinF.D 
PKOFITS. 

8  216,629 

fc87,l('7 

35, 265 

81,999 

319,072 

109,873 

214,147 

307,057 

179,564 

3,855 

143,570 


320,310 
105,(^38 
10,247 
347,714 
238,257 
206, 9o7 


LOANS  AKD 

DISCOUNTS. 

9  .3,891 ,651 

23,8lL','.tS5 

24_',J47 

l,4'.)3,7ii6 

7,446,748 

2,945,985 

4,187,3.54 

4,114,719 

3,69-.:,:i06 

l2.s,556 

2,236,010 


7,107,351 
2,043,9,s4 
247,877 
9,4(«»,340 
.5,)'87,105 
6,341, 1(>5 


INPIVinCAL 
PU0KIT8. 

$  3,997,916 
17,433,^^6 

577,871 
l,57tl,72;t 
(■','.9  ,447 
2,<  4^1,126 
2,H83,365 
2,5Sf>,l76 
2,012,457 

157,JIJ 
1,3 1^,88 'J 


6,013,172 
2,1 'N  1,993 
265,:'.K2 
6,112,913 
2,397,';  16 
6,58.5, 6.'.,5 


$45,597,730        88,990,309        ?3,727,21l 


io,  280,309        864,730,819 


WEST,  1879. 


*158  Ohio    .   .   . 

6 

Cincinnati 

6 

Cleveland 

92 

Indiana  .    . 

*127  Illinois  .   . 

9 

Chicago  .   . 

*75 

Michigan  . 

4 

Detroit   .   . 

*32 

Wisconsin  . 

3 

Milwaukee 

75 

Iowa   .    .    . 

3t 

IMinnesota 

*10 

31issouri     . 

5 

St.  Louis    . 

12 

Kansas   ,   . 

10 

Nebraska  . 

660 


76 
51 
49 

*2nl 
55 
60 
84 

*265 

45 

6 

88 

*255 
"41 
24 
18 

1321 


Maine     .   .   .   . 
New  Hampshire 
Vermont    .   . 
Massachusetts 
Boston    .   .   . 
Rhode  Island 
Connecticut 
New  York     . 
New  York  City 
Albany   .   .    . 
New  Jersey  . 
Pennsylvania 
Philacie'phia 
Pittsburg  .   . 
Delaware   .   . 


f  18,761, 900 

4,100,000 

3,700,000 

13,202,500 

10,714,600 

4,250,000 

7,235,000 

2,100,000 

2,400,000 

650,0''0 

5,867,000 

5,150,000 

1,400,000 

2,«5O,00O 

875,000 

850,000 


$3,711,760 

695,000 

760,000 

3,976,906 

3,463,483 

2,360,000 

1,876,122 

715,000 

687,872 

2^0,000 

1,419,101 

937,003 

321,204 

758.037 

193,0.50 

229,700 


$1,602,886 
666,099 
284,586 
l,216,:-i76 
1,054,599 
819,628 
904,209 
454,021 
369,190 
137,755 
633,493 
452,233 
231,462 
256,676 
100,763 
164,478 


$34,274,345 

12,532,^)29 

7,595,258 

23,193,224 

22,471,899 

23,190,590 

14,091, 5h7 

6,846,403 

0,0( -4,498 

2,90.5,709 

11,373,096 

12,201,167 

2,311,75.5 

8,  ,527, 61 1 

1,794,360 

3,193,1,58 


f29,817,294 

1<',0()4,733 

6,'.i.5l,l;i5 

19,871,023 

2.5,857,i»4X 

2:^,534,594 

12,0,39,290 

6,•J6,5,8.^^ 

6,.542,023 

3,216,893 

Il,6u7,6l9 

8,918,149 

3, 127  68-2 

5, 20.3,  .591 

2,.'>47,782 

3,723,501 


$83,906,0c0      t22,324,238        {9,348,454      $191,506,069     $179,278,252 


NORTH,  1889. 


$10,660,000 

6,317,800 

7,466,000 

45.049,430 

51,800,000 

20,284,1  50 

24,  o-.^,  370 

34,329,060 

48,85' ',000 

1,550,000 

13,524,640 

34,162,580 

23,408,1100 

lo,43",0O0 

2,133,9S5 


$  2,658,509 

1,.M5,P.32 

1,691,177 

14,. 571,. 525 

1.3,744,970 

4,408,363 

6,867,079 

11,056,818 

33,052,906 

l,278,.50O 

5,61.5,351 

13,:^.21,1I3 

11,724,303 

6,162  909 

883,4.50 


$  1,312,515 

606,318 

664,600 

5,537,831 

5,  .^45, 267 

1,946,724 

1,76  ,605 

6,.557,680 

11,967,798 

230,569 

2,285.792 

3,370,738 

2,205,712 

931,298 

226,428 


$  20,442,270 

1<  1, 106, 8' 3 

12,744,250 

100,988,!i77 

147,6.59,370 

36,272,H69 

46,291,130 

101,788,'.».39 

309,442,460 

,^,813,f,16 

43,!t:i4,984 

8C,,451,156 

96,453,861 

35,029.127 

5.:^92,5(;o 


$11,.5".3,148 

7,ol5,t;22 

6,84 ',125 

62,792,  Mil 

102.9:j;{  9."'5 

15,S67,3I2 

.^i;,.  r>4i,.52l 

92,.',99,443 

2«1,46  ',362 

7,647.4'  9 

42,04.3,4.'.9 

8f,-  66,tl54 

90,Hf'7,W>8 

30,734.775 

4,531,s2'i 


{333,989,915     $127,582,805      $45,.549,875     $1,061,812,372   $8,52,424,774 
*  Exclusive  of  reserve  cities. 


28 


434 


WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH  ? 


SOUTH,  1889. 


^•'-  "^        STATE. 

CAPITAL 

SURPLUS. 

UNDIVinED 

LOAN.S  AND 

INDIVIDUAL 

BANKS                                                       STOCK. 

PUdFITS. 

Dl.sfOUNTS. 

DKPOSITS. 

*34  I^Iaryland  ....  $  2,082,000 

$  1,073,789 

$  2^9,849 

$  8,010,683 

$  7,348,151 

17  Baltimure  .    .    . 

11,713.260 

3,923,600 

864,-72 

28,^>29,»95 

21,41  s393 

*l  Dist.  ot  Columbia 

2:)2,ouO 

6o,000 

59,819 

321,414 

864,065 

7  Washington  .    . 

1,575,000 

073,000 

159,231 

5,401,856 

8,039,39.{ 

30  Vir«iniii        .    . 

4,076,5(.0 

1,659,919 

372,293 

12,156,945 

10,6';  5,152 

]9  West  Virginia  . 

.      1,856,000 

477,096 

90,534 

4,311,458 

3,470,3,>s7 

18  North  Carolina 

.      2,27H,0OJ 

5h6,l54 

284,414 

5,331,796 

3,955,276 

16  South  Carolina 

.      1,798,000 

842,500 

811,732 

5, 91 '1,898 

3,171,3-2 

li7  Georj^ia  .... 

3,661,560 

1,127,914 

539,980 

8.037,631 

5,392,124 

13  Florida  .    .   . 

950,000 

130,650 

72,077 

2,220,063 

2,59';,5iG 

25  Alabama    .   . 

.      3,891,100 

9.i7,888 

442,486 

7,691.009 

6,008,817 

12  Mississippi     . 

1,130,000 

311,300 

72,258 

2,5:;9,137 

1,849,071 

*5  Louisiana  .   . 

5(I(1,0(M) 

108,000 

.32,271 

986,886 

937,7*0 

9  New  Orleans 

3,125,000 

1,550,125 

334,198 

11,315,4»7 

12,544,317 

115  Texas  .... 

13,-1  OH,  690 

3,156,701 

90(J,447 

25,319,(,42 

18,00  •■,037 

8  Arkansas    .    . 

.       l,2lK»,0(tO 

.   237,000 

43,071 

2,787,685 

2,273,113 

45  Tennessee  .    . 

7,905,000 

1,742,762 

787,529 

19,214,970 

14,400,829 

*(i2  Kentucky  .    . 

10,0u2,9()0 

2,3.54, 7(;5 

632,465 

18,3S'I,361 
11,011,161 

11,28:5,524 

9  Louisville  .   . 

4,151,500 

1,003,928 

341,653 

4,2(58,055 

472                                  $70,451,510 

$21,937,991 

$7,136,579 

$179,787,377 

$139,093,232 

WEST,  1889. 

*197  Ohio 824,404,000 

$6,095,999 

$1,706,281 

$55,868,869 

$47,431,1.30 

13  (  incinnati 

8,900,000 

2,068,000 

f  75,999 

23,826,745 

18,845,:{<;5 

9  Cleveland  .    . 

6,7.50,000 

1,064,000 

523,881 

17.844,736 

13,488,317 

07  Indiana  .   . 

l2,2.S4,.0OO 

3,811,589 

l,2f-4,735 

28,683,(;59 

28,581,945 

*1()8  Illinois  .   . 

15,204,000 

4,997,209 

1,970,331 

4o,92S,8.53 

30,311,620 

19  Chicago  .   . 

]5,5.'iO,ooO 

5,755,000 

1,901,451 

70,104,937 

54,014,859 

*104  Micliigan  . 

11,244,600 

2,591,032 

1,212,786 

29,9.'.3,<  92 

24,186,299 

8  Detroit   .   . 

4,400,000 

552,000 

413,599 

13,892,833 

9,829,096 

*58  Wisconsin  . 

4,925,000 

1,464,834 

502,935 

15,946,304 

15,14:^,163 

3  Milwaukee 

850,000 

390,'  00 

221,842 

4,40H,915 

5,185,933 

132  Iowa   .    .    . 

10,.-.40,0'.)0 

2,^83,803 

985,612 

2.-),  809, 477 

20,(563,814 

57  IMinnesota 

14,145,'O0 

2,641,922 

1,431,927 

37,273,270 

26,k:]7,605 

*39  ]yiis8ouri     . 

2,882,190 

625,147 

145,722 

5,644,919 

5,.'S85,445 

5  St.  liouis    . 

4,400,(JOO 

84o,(M)0 

283.. 548 

10,410,579 

8,493,082 

10  Kansas  City 

1,800,000 

846,500 

223,286 

18,030,415 

11,932,978 

3  St.  Joseph 

1,000,000 

81,500 

l'3,035 

2,972,373 

2,599,573 

162  Kansas  .   . 

13,010,100 

1,911,4.53 

70  ,983 

22,4.54,043 

1K,0I2,<59^ 

*107  Nebraska  . 

.      7,285,000 

1,261,109 

442,i;80 

If,.  11 1,975 

11,344,093 

7  Omaha    .   . 

3,300,000 

457,r.00 

143,065 

10,143,532 

8,493,880 

1198 

|162,b74,390 

$40,338,597 

$14,765,089 

$4  0,318,506 

$3;0,910,925 

In  order  to  make  still  clearer  the  relative  progress  of  tJie 
States  treated  of  in  this  book  and  the  other  States  comprised 
in  the  above  tables  the  former  and  the  latter  are  gronped 
below.  The  figures  are  so  remarkable  that  attention  is  here 
called  to  the  fact  that  the  editor  has  taken  them  from  the 
official  reports. 

The  term  Northern  and  Western  applies  to  the  following 
States:    Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,   Massachusetts, 


*  Exclusive  of  reserve  cities. 


SUNRISE.  435 

Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Penn- 
sylvania, Delaware,  Maryland,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Mich- 
igan, Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  and 
District  of  Columbia  ;  and  the  term  Southern  applies  to  the 
following  States:  Alabama,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  A\'est  Vir- 
ginia, Tennessee,  Arkansas,  Texas  and  Missouri. 

Northern  and  Western  Stales,  1879. 

NO.  OF  CAPITAL  ciinpTTTfl  tlNDIVIHED  LOANS   AND 

BANKS.  STOCK.  SURPLUS.  pKoFlTS.  DISCOUNTS.  BErOStTfl. 

1895        $436,556,785        $114,390,644  $42,578,353  8974,7b5,259  $8M,Mj4,r.21 

Northern  and  Western  States,  1889. 

2592        ^^17,468,775        $174,797,337  $61,886,252      $1,546,027,962  $1,249,4.39,202 

Percentage  of  Increase. 

37  19  53  45  68  53 

Southern  States,  1879. 

151  $24,852,200  $5,115,724  $2,408,378  $51,331,361  $41,025,137 

Southern  States,  1889. 

399  $55,850,040        $15,062,056  {5,564,881  $144,890,293  $113,889,729 

Perce)itage  of  lucrea  e. 

104  125  194  131  182  177 

This  comparison  shows  that  while  the  percentage  of  in- 
crease of  banks  was,  in  the  North  and  West,  37  per  cent.,  it 
was,  in  the  South,  164  ;  that  in  the  former  the  increased  per- 
centage of  capital  stock  was  19  against  125  in  the  latter;  of 
surplus  53  against  194;  undivided  profits,  45  against  131; 
loans  and  discounts  68  against  182,  and  deposits  53  against 
177  ;  the  average  percentage  of  increase  in  all  these  items 
being  about  threefold  greater  in  the  South  than  in  the  remain- 
der of  the  States  presented. 

The  facts  stated  in  the  preceding  portions  of  this  book  and 
those  shown  by  these  figures  present,  it  is  believed,  the  most 
startling  contrast  between  the  results  of  good  government  and 
bad  that  can  be  found  in  the  history  of  mankind.  Statistics, 
however,  do  not  always  impress  tlie  mind  as  vividly  as  the 
personal  evidence  of  an  intelligent  witness.  There  is  no  more 
competent  observer  than  Vice-President  IMorton.  On  his 
return  from  a  recent  trip  to  the  South,  he  talked  to  a  reporter 
of  the  Washington  Post.  The  whole  interview  may  be  in- 
teresting to  one  who  wishes  to  understand  the  present  condi- 
tion. 


436  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

"  It  was  my  first  trip  along  the  South  Atlantic  coast,"  he 
said,  '^although  many  years  ago  I  visited  New  Orleans,  and 
to  say  that  I  thoroughly  enjoyed  the  trip  would  be  to  very 
mildly  characterize  the  pleasure  I  experienced.  Although  I 
went  among  the  people  who  were  perfect  strangers  to  me,  aud 
with  whose  interests  I  had  not  beeu  closely  identified,  I  met 
jwith  a  most  cordial  greeting  everywhere,  and,  indeed,  could 
not  begin  to  accept  all  the  invitations  which  were  showered 
upon  me.  If  I  had  had  the  time  I  would  hav^e  gone  to 
Mobile,  Ala.,  Thomasville,  Ga.,  and  other  places  from  which 
invitations  came,  but  there  had  to  be  a  limit  to  travel." 

''  What  feature  of  this  trip  most  impressed  you?" 

^'  I  tliink  that  the  wonderful  aud  rapid  recovery  of  the 
South  from  the  devastation  of  the  war  is  most  amazing  and 
must  strongly  imj)ress  every  one  who  knows  what  the  South 
experienced  and  realizes  what  it  is  to-day.  I  am  frank  to 
say  that  I  do  not  believe  a  traveler  going  through  the  South, 
if  unaware  of  the  struggle  of  twenty-five  years  ago,  would 
notice  any  signs  resulting  from  that  struggle.  Of  course  this 
recovery  is  not  equal  at  all  points.  Some  cities  are  more  back- 
ward than  others,  and  yet  I  believe  that  all  cities  are  feeling 
the  general  j)rospcrity  which  is  now  the  happy  condition  of 
the  South.  Atlanta,  Savannah,  Birmingham,  aud  Jackson- 
ville are  particularly  flourishing.  Jacksonville  has  in  four 
years  increased  its  poi)ulation  from  35,000  to  60/JOO.  This 
is  marvellous  growth." 

^^  Do  the  Southern  people  still  talk  of  the  war?" 

"  I  think  not,  except  to  refer  to  it  as  a  basis  of  comparison 
by  which  they  emphasize  the  changes  wlii(;h  ha.ve  been  made 
since  it  closed,  and  this  comparison  is  with  them  a  natural 
matter  of  pride.  Of  course,  I  s])eak  only  for  the  cities.  I 
did  not  go  into  the  country.  In  the  cities,  however,  the 
Southern  man  has  his  mind  on  the  future  rather  than  on  the 
past." 

"  There  is  considerable  Northern  capital  invested  in  the 
development  of  the  South  ?  " 

^'  Beyond  a  doubt." 

"  And  do  the  Northerners  and  the  Southerners  work  to- 
gether without  friction  ?  " 


SUNRISE.  437 

'^  I  think  they  do.  Certainly  anion«r  the  business  men,  so 
far  as  I  could  see,  Democrats  and  Republicans  were  on  ex- 
cellent terms.  There  is  a  common  bond,"  continued  Mr. 
Morton,  with  a  smile,  "  in  making  money,  and  tliat  is  what 
the  South  is  now  successfully  endeavoring  to  do.  Northern 
people  are  welcomed  in  the  South,  especially  if  they  are  dis- 
posed to  place  their  shoulders  to  the  wheel  in  helping  to 
develop  the  material  industries  of  that  section.  Tiie  South- 
erner may  not  agree  with  his  Northern  visitor  politically,  and 
he  may  have  diiferent  views  on  other  questions,  but  he  is 
heart  and  soul  with  him  on  the  all-absorbing  question  of 
development.  Yes,  there  can  be  no  question  but  that  the 
Northern  man  is  sure  of  a  cordial  welcome  to  the  South." 

''  Then  the  Southerners  are  not  letting  Northern  men  do 
all  the  work  ?  " 

"  Not  by  any  manner  of  means.  They  are  also  up  and 
alive  and  doing." 

'^  Mr.  Morton  said  that  the  Florida  hotels  were  now  fidl  of 
tourists  from  the  North.  Jacksonville  is  crowded,  and  all 
the  St.  Augustine  hotels  are  full.  A  new  hotel,  to  accommo 
date  500  or  600  guests,  is  now  being  erected  in  Tampa,  and 
will  be  readv  next  season.  In  conclusion  Mr.  Morton  a;j:ain 
referred  with  the  heartiest  appreciation  to  the  marked  cordi- 
ality which  had  been  shown  him,  and  expressed  the  firm 
belief  that  the  present  era  of  prosperity  in  the  South  was  not 
based  on  a  fictitious  foundation,  but  was  the  result  of  natural 
and  lasting  causes." 

All  these  facts  cannot  be  answered  by  citing  and  collating 
isolated  cases  of  wrong. 

The  political  earthquake  that  convulsed  the  Southern 
States  for  years,  some  of  them  from  1865  to  1876,  of  course 
lefl  great  fissures,  some  of  which  are  not  yet  closed ;  but  the 
kindly  processes  of  nature  are  carrying  on  the  work  of  resto- 
ration. 

It  was  and  is  the  misfortune  of  the  Southern  people  to 
have  to  deal  with  the  problems  arising  out  of  race  })rcjudices. 

The  negro  had  neitlier  the  will  nor  the  power  to  resist  the 
forces  which  arrayed  him  against  his  late  master,  and  the 
solidification  of  his  vote,  by  those  who  were  to  profit  by  it, 


438 


WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUPH? 


meant  of  course,  a  black  man's  party;  for  its  niaioritv  senti- 
ent ,ieter,n,„es    tlje    con.plexion   of  every  political    partv 

meant  inn.  lo  avert  rum  white  men  united:  and  then 
came  a  strugg  e,  the  issue  of  which  was  in  all  the  States  he 
same  It  could  not  anywhere  he  doubtful.  The  race  a  'ai  t 
M  he  negro  had  allowed  himself  to  be  arra^dTas  ne ve 
yet  met  its  master.  It  could  not  go  down  before  the  A  Wean 
No  true  fnend  of  tl-.e  colored  man  wouki,  except  in  i^m- 
rance,  precipitate  such  a  conflict  '  ° 

But  victor  though  the  white  man  was,  no  one  could  rec^ret 

the  en  orced  conflict  more  than  di.l  the  peo,>le  of  the  Somlf 

And  they  set  to  work  at  once  to  make  i  k  ndiy  use  of  t  ei^ 

V  ctories.      Under  the  laws  passed   by  Southern  whrte  men 

e  negroes  in  every  Southern  State  are  far  more  prosi'erous 

ft.etL;:-  .Tendf '■  '"^  ^'^  "^^  '"^  ^^''^  ''""-"- 

o?  thi'sulr"/" '" '%'/"  ■"»"'?^^'"  "-  So^theniSs 
ot  thi.  Union.     In  everything  going  to  make  up  a  pro<.ner- 

ous  and  happy  career  their  conditioif  is  infinitely  betfeiXn 
that  of  their  brethren  in  such  countries  as  Ha^,  where     " 

se  nfotlliid- ?/"'"  "'■'•'^rt  ^-"^  y^'  there  ire' those  wo 
seem  to  think  it  an  especial  duty  to  foment  amono-  these  col- 
ored peo,,le  a  spirit  of  strife  and  discontent.       Th're  is  none 

in  the  sZWrrr  "''  TT  f  "',?•  "'''"^  f'^llow-citizeiis 
in  tlie  South.     They  understand  well  enough  that  the  one 
condition  upon  which  prosperity  can   be  hoj^ed   for  is  p^^ 
and  not  strite  between  the  races.     They  know  full  we/to^ 
that  the  laborer  wull  not  be  valuable  eid.er  as  a  citilei    or  a 
vorker  unless  he  is  contented,  and  that  he  will  no    be  con- 
SonH,"t'h  %r''!  •'/""■'^  "''''''^-     So  in  every  State  in  the 
th     oidi'ti^^of  H  ^""^  "''^'='  ""''  successfully:  too,  to  better 
zensliip        ihese  States  are  expending   many   millions   per 
annum  for  educational  purposes.     Following  i  a  table  taken 
from  the  Report  of  the  U.  S.  Commissioner'of  Edti^Tation  fo 
1889.     It  comprises  all  of  the  States  of  the  Union  which 
have  made  separate  reports  for  white  and  colored  sehooir. 


SUNRISE. 


439 


PUBLIC   SCHOOLS   FOR  THE   COLORED   RACE. 
Table  91.-Colored  School  Population,  Enrollment  and  Avcraje,  Attendance 

for  1S87-88. 


Alabama 

Arkaasas 

Delaware*  .... 
District  of  Columbia 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indiana 

Kentucky*     .   .   .   . 

Louisiana 

Maryland 

ISIississippi*    .   •    •   • 

Missouri* 

North  Carolina  .  .  . 
South  Carolina  .  .  . 
Tennessee*     .   .    .   • 

Texas   

Virginia 

West  Virginia  .   .   . 


1887 

7-21 

1888 

G-21 

1S86 

6-21 

1883 

6-17 

1888 

6-21 

1888 

6-18 

1888 

6-21 

1886 

6-20 

1887 

6-18 

1880 

5-20 

18-^5 

5-21 

1887 

6-20 

1888 

6-21 

1880 

6-18 

18S7 

6-21 

1888 

8-16 

1885 

5-21 

1888 

6-21 

212,821 
99,784 
b5,750 
18,20fi 
33,596 

267,657 
17,750 

102,617 
dl51,?.84 

,  6^',409 
269,009 
47,603 
216,837 
180,4;i5 
161 ,393 
135.184 
265,249 
10,420 


485,551 
388,165 
642,218 
51,501) 
63,848 
560,281 
756,989 
641,638 
335,603 
295,215 
471, :W2 
838,812 
580,  H19 
281,684 
640,014 
525,110 
610,271 
256,:}50 


098,306 

50,57*) 

b3,5<Hl 

12,796 

*3 1,51,6 

120,' 53 

8,408 

41,052 

4i;,9l2 

32,5:5') 

143,8i5 

30,4(9 

125,884 

10::,:'.34 

so,  I  '27 

84,463 

118,831 

6.i:'i0 


af.3,995 
*9,'538 


c23,105 
34,26-2 
14,221 
85,996 

*  75.230 
74.<t75 
66,3:j2 

"  64,422 
3,557 


*  For  18S6-7.  ,         fi„,,res  seem  to  be  those  of  1886-7. 

I  E^el™!::„°/SlLtg°^u,  JStfeirirfour  ?cl.o„ls  for  colored  cb,.*en. 

c  For  counties  only. 
d  For  1885-86. 

When  the  ne.ro  was  a  ,«!ave  thejhite  men  of  the  Sov,|h 
made  it  unlawful  to  teach  In m  to  lead      Ih  s  ^^a.        I 

themselves  to  fit  him  for  freedom  ,5^,. 

Let  the  reader  ponder  tins  fact  ^"^^^^^j^^^if.i,,,!  States 
self  the  question  whether  the  Coju..J  U,e  L.^^  ^^_^^  ^^  _^_ 
can  wisely  enact  any  law  t  at  ^^o,.k    t  .  ^^^^^^  ^^^^^^ 

flictof  races  in  the  South.  /' "°' \,t;,,sted  in  its  oorn-ct 
beins  worked  out  by  the  people  T'V "•'  the  only  pos.il.le 
solution?     Are   they   not   proceeding   in   the        >    1 


440  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

and  ippiied  i^  S^i^:::i;z^z;r^,-^  zr 

are  necessary  to  its  solution  interested,  all  these 

;"g.i.e4-o'nS„l:f';idVlrs„;u^^^^^^^^ 

won,d  tend  t'owanir:  Slt'.'.^.^^ .^r^Cr"'  ^"^  ^' 

ins  vote  aud  somrprl   if      Ti.^  ^oioiea  man 

solid    „,asses  T  dlt   pur!!     "^^eT  '''"'  "^  '^,'  P""^  "' 

eael.  of  tl.e  foimer  slavv  states     ^  "■'"^'*  ''"""''^^  '" 

..anufacturinSesllStuldT^^n^S  t'-^'V;' 
program  should  be  carried  out  as  it  ;«  !'•      i  v"-'' ,'{  "''' 

with  the  United  States  arnTv'to  enforce  '^twJT'''  ""'' 
domination  should  asain  be  f.merl  T *l  a  ;,*'"'  ""^^o 
princely  fortune  would  van.d,       toair     ft  f'"""'  •'"'"^u  " 


SUNRISE.  441 


latioii      The  Southern  people  themselves  look  on  with  the 
profoundest  concern.     They  jnclge  the  futnre  by  the  past 
They  themselves   passed   through   the  scenes  that  are  only 
faintly   pictured  in   the   preceding  pages      Ex,>enonce   has 
demonstrated  to  them,  what  reason  itself  would  teach  that 
Federal  control  over  election  laws  and  elecfon  metho.ls,  ,„- 
terference  by  the  General  Government  expressly  m  favor  ot 
he  blacks  and  against  the  whites,  would  tend  to  arrav  one 
■ace  a'ah  St  the  other  in  bitter  hostility  that  such  hostd, tv 
n  a  contest  for  supremacy  in  affairs  of  governmont  would 
engender  race  conflicts  and  that  race  conflicts  woul.l  furn.sh 
an  excuse  for  military  interference. 

It  w  11  not  answe'r  to  say  that  conditions  have  change  . 
There  will  be  Northern  adventurers  and  native  whites    n 
Seat  plenty  to  lead  the  negroes.     No  mass  of  vc.ters  ul, Ic  t 
frtmrnm  power  have  ever  yet  lacked  for  leaders,  and  i 
matters  not ^hat  prejudices  the  voters  have,  they  will  find 
men  to  v^ldl  to    hem,  and,  how  great  soCN^r  tlie.r  cupid- 
tv  mav  be    their  chosen   representatives  will  answer  to  the 
rrds'tliat  may  be  made  up^  f^  .iSve^^^r  s'  nTf 

As  to  whetner  y  ^^  ^^^^  ^  , 

dominion  ot  the  negro  a^ai  Ipss.m      Would   the 

die  past  may  furnish  ^''"f  "f ';',,'  Xitl  Carolina, 
army  be  used  more_  freely  t  >«"/;?!  "esnk  now  be  dit' 
Mississippi  or  Louisiana,  and  would  tlie  result, 

ferent?  .        .  „       ,       ^        ^f  o„,.  Civil  War, 

There  was  a  t'rNl"f\^*^!',,^ook  upon  the  South  as  a 
.vhen  Northern  capitalists  began  ^  jooj;  1«^;  governments 
field  for  investments,  bu  ''fe'  J,^;  '^^ ^^;'-^'  leir  capacity  for 
had  had  opportunity  fully  «  J  ^''"f  .^f^t"  „to  that  rcgio.i 
evil  not  a  single  dollar  for  wje";^;;^  t,,,  overthrow  .>r 
for  years.  Years  had  elapsed  eveu  fj^^^_  Southern 
these  governments  before  ec^fiJenee^^ao^^^^^^^^  ^^ 

men  they  were,  who,  «ith  their  own  ca^     ,  ^^_,^,^  ,^^^^ 

the  world  the  resources  of  the  feoutn. 


442  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

ceased  to  doubt  either  the  stability  of  state  governments  or 
the  vahies  of  Southern  properties ;  and  now  Northern  capital 
is  flowing  southward  in  a  steady  stream.  It  is  said  that  to 
one  town  in  Alabama — now  not  more  than  eighteen  months 
old — investors  have  come  from  thirty-two  of  the  states  of  the 
Union.  The  flow  has  only  fairly  begun.  .  If  not  checked  by 
some  untoward  movement  it  will  steadily  increase  in  volume. 
There  is  no  finer  field  for  investing  the  surplus  capital  of  the 
North.  There  is  no  better  customer  for  the  Northern  mer- 
chant than  the  Southerner.  There  is  no  more  steady  demand 
for  the  products  of  the  Northwest  than  comes  from  the  Sou.th ; 
and  no  one  can  deny  that  the  continued  prosperity  of  that 
section  is  necessary  to  the  prosperity  of  the  North  and  West. 

How  shall  Southern  prosperity  be  continued  except,  by 
continuing  the  conditions  which  brought  it  about?  The 
chiefest  of  these  are  honest,  economical  state  governments. 
These  secure  to  labor  its  reward,  and  to  capital  its  profit. 

Our  ancestors  believed  that  local  self-government  was  the 
greatest  of  blessings.  That  was  the  foundation  stone  upon 
which  was  builded  all  our  institutions  of  government.  The 
unwisdom  and  peril  of  departing  from  this  theory  has  never 
had  a  more  convincing  illustration  than  in  the  reconstruction 
laws  of  Congress  and  the  results  which  followed. 

Certainly  the  masses  of  the  people  of  the  distant  North, 
if  they  had  understood  the  situation  at  the  South  as  the  peo- 
ple there  did,  and  if  they  could  have  foreseen  the  conse- 
quences of  the  reconstruction  laws,  would  not  have  sanctioned 
their  passage  as  they  did.  Intelligent  Americans  cannot  be 
misled  as  to  facts  transpiring  in  their  midst.  On  these  their 
judgment  is  always  to  be  trusted;  but  there  is  always  danger 
of  mistake  when  voters  in  any  one  part  of  the  Union  under- 
take to  pass  upon  questions  peculiar  to  a  far-distant  section 
of  the  country.  Herein  lies  the  distinguishing  excellence  of 
our  complex  form  of  government.  Local  questions  are  left 
to  be  determined  by  those  most  interested  in  correct  conclu- 
sions and  best  acquainted  with  the  facts  out  of  which  the 
questions  arise. 

It  is  sincerely  to  he  hoped  that  the  American  people  may 
not  need  to  take  another  lesson  in  the  school  of  Reconstruction. 

Hilary  A.  Herbert. 


?  J> 


APPENDIX   A. 


MARCH  2,  18G7. 

Whereas  no  legal  state  ^---^ts^-^-^^^P-^^^^ 
or  property  now  exists  ^^^  ^^^^  .^^"^if,^^^^^^^^        Alabama,    Louisiana, 
Una,   Souih   Carolina,   ^^^JS^;  JX'eas  it  is  necessary  that  peace 
Flo  ida,  Texas  and  Arkansas     and  ^^e;^^^^^^,^  until  loyal  and  re- 
and  ^ood  order  ^^ould  be  enforced  ^^^  ^^^^^^.^^^^.i^ed  ;  Therefore, 
publican  state  governments  can  be  le  ay         j^       .enfatives  of  the 

^  Be  it  enacted  by  the  ^'.^f^Zress^^^^^^^^^ 

United  States  <^'^^^^^^^^,^:^fScts  and  made  subject  to  the  miii- 
shallbe  divided  into  military  d^^^^^^^^  prescribed  and  for 

l^^LTSuU^Carolina^t^^^^  four.h  dis- 

Florida  the  third  district ;  ^^^^^^^/PP^       district.  ^   ^      ,  ^, 

trict-  and  Louisiana  and  Texas  tiie  nun  ^^^  duty  of  the 

Sec  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  Th^^  it  sbau  district,  an 

assigned. 

Sec.  3.  And 
officer  assigned 

Sopunirh/oroausetooe  puLH^^^^^^  ^^,^,1  eiv.l  iri- 

^eace  a^nd  criminals  ; /^^nd  to  this  end   he  m^y^^^^^^  1 

bunals  to  take    urisdiction  f  ^"^,  ^^^rial  of  ofTenders,  he  shall  ha  e 

power  to  "'^g'\"''rf    g,,ee  under  color  o'/'ff,,?"  '  .u":!!!.!  vc.i.l. 
Sercire'oftilitrr    authority  under  th. 

"|ec!4.  ^«'i*.^^/'"f;Siracfi'aU  be  tri^d  without  unnecessary 
tary  arrest  by  virtue  of  this  act  sua  ^^^ 


444  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 


'e!^n::t/':r:^'i^Z^::^^  -dieted,  and  no 

affecting  the  life  or  UheltyZlTyZr^^^^^^^ 

IS  approved  by  the  officer  in  comm  u  d  V  hi^i^!  executed  until  it 
and  reguhitions  for  the  govern S  of  rhL^''^  ^'f'^,^'  ^°^  the  laws 
by  this  act,  except  in  so  Ikr  arthev  onn  fl  .  ^.^  '^^^^  "^^  ^^  '-effected 
vidof,  Th^t  no  sentence  of  death^nK^rl''^'^^'^P'^^'^^^'^^  ^^--• 
shall  be  carried  into  effect  witho,    ill  '^  Provisions  of  this  act 

Sec.  5.  And  be  ^  /"Xl^aeW  '.lf,fPf'f>^'^^' <>f  the  President, 
of  said  rebel  states  LIlLy:^^!^^^^^^^^^^  of  anyone 

in  conformity  with  the  Constitutioii  ofth?  T  •.  To''^  government 
speeds,  framed  by  a  convention  of?/!]!  .  F""^,"^  States  in  all  re- 
zens  of  said  stafeNwe~  by  the  xnale  citi- 

race,  color,  or  preWous  conditions  wh^i,  i"^"'^'*^'  ^^  whatever 
siateforoneye^rpreviourto  r%voP  '^  been  resident  in  said 
as  may  be  disfranchised  ibVpurtic  Action    !^^^  «"^h 

ony  at  common  law,  and  wherf  i^  1 " /i?.,  n'  't'  ^^"  ^^  ^^^  ^■^'- 
the  elective  franchise  shall  i^e  on  nvofln"'"  f^'^^^  P^^^'^^e  that 
the  qualifications  he?e  l,tedTrp?p>  ^'^'^^  P"'^^"^  ^«  ^^'-^ve 
such  constitution  shalTbe  ra  .tied  hv  ^  .^  '^^  delegates,  and  when 
on  the  question  of  ra  ificat?o  who  L'^  majority  of  the  persons  voting 
gates,  and  when  such  cons  itb.hdl  T/v  '  l'^^  ''  't'''''  ''''  ^'^' 
gress   for  examination   and   anm^^^^^^^^^^  to  Om- 

provedthe  same,  and  when  s  sV  o  K  ^'^"-^^  «h^dl  have  ap- 
elected  under  said  con  tftu  ion   ih-m' ^^  '^^   legislature 

to  the  Constitution  of  thfunitecS'lir  '-^^opted  the  amendment 
iiinth  Congress,  and  knovn%s.r<ti;-:  P^oposed  by  the  Thirtv- 
shall  have  becCe  a  mrt  of  fhP^  T^-'"'  ''^"^  ^^en  said  article 
said  state  shall  bedech  led  ent^^tled  Jo  "''""  ^1  '^^  ^"'^^^'  ^^^tes, 
and  Senators  and   RepreLnta"   4^^^^^  ^"  Cngress 

tlieir  taking  the  oat^rtSe  dbv  uf  ^e  admitted  therefrom  on 
preceding  lections  ot't^'rac  sha  I  belnn^'"r  "^  thereafter  the 
J'rovided,  Th^t  no  person  exH.ulprlf  \"«P^^''itive  in  said  state: 
office  by  said  proposTamendmontl  t^^^  privilege  of  holding 
States,  shall  be  ei^S  1^^ IprHon  ^'^  Constitution  of  the  United 
frame  a  constiSn  flVany  of  said  r.^  ^^  '^'  convention  to 

person  vote  for  membe^7o7su1h"o^^  shall  any  such 

rebd  stLfsL  l%e{;1t^d^^^^^^^^^^  ^^-.  P^P^^^  -id 

gress  of  the  United  States  an  v. ivf,"^  *^  representation  in  the  Con- 
therein  shall  be  delmed';  i^rjonaU^^  ^^^  ^-^^«t 
to  the  paramount  authority  of  the  tj^ft J  l.f  '^?^'^'  ^"^J^^t 
abolish,  modify,  control  or  sunorJr  p  f).  States  at  any  time  to 
to  any  office  undersuchDroviJ^^^^  ^°^  ^°  ^^^  elections 
be  entitled  to  vote  and  ncnLotT^^^^^^  P^^««"«  '^'^^^ 
the  provisions  of  thrtiftrsect^onTf  .T- "^  ^?  ""^l^'^^  to  vote,  under 
eligible  to  any  office  undlrln^  I  '  ^'^^•'  •'''"^  "^  P^^««»  ^hall  be 
wouhi  be  disquLmed  f?om  hoMinfoffi  governments  who 
third  arHcle  o\  said'conSuS                         ^^^  ^^^^^^^  -^  the 


APPENDIX  B. 


MARCH  23,  1867. 


AN   ACT  STTPPLEMENTAKY  TO    AN   ACT,   ENTITLED   "  AN   ACT  TO  PRO^  IDE 
FOB  THE  MORE   EFFICIENT  GOVERNMENT    OF    THE  REBEL    STATES, 
PASSED  MARCH  SECOND,  EIGHTEEN  HUNDRED  AND  SIXTY-SEVEN, 
AND  TO   FACILITATE  RESTORATION. 

Be  U  enacted  hy  the  Senate  and  tl^  HonseofRepreMesJthe 
TT  uori  v//r/^Q  nf  America  in  Conaress  Assembled,  ihal  before  me  nr-t 

months  next  preceding  th,s   day,^Dd_iiowjresHle  m  ^  ^^^^^  ^^^ .  ^^^^ 

disfranchised  for  Participation  in  a^iyebell.on^c^^^  ^^. 

the  United  States  nor  for  felony  commtt^^^^^^  ^^  ^^ 

state  or  of  the  United  States;  tmt  I  h.weneveroee^^,^        ^^^,^^  .^^ 

any  State  Legislature,  nor  ^^^^^/."/.f;^,^,?;^^^!^^^  against 

any  state  and  afterwards  eng^Jged  in  i.^s  rrecu^  ^^^^^^^.^ 

the  United  States,  or  given  aid  or  ^^'^^^^^  „\^^  Congress  of  the 

that  I  have  never  taken  an  «f  ,  f.x^^^^Ses,  or  as  a  member 
United  States,  or  as  an  officer  f  ^he  U^^^^^^^^^^^  or  judicial  ollker  of  any 
of  any  State  Legislature,  or  as  an  exec  itne  or  )u  ^^^^^_ 

statc'to  support  the  Co-titution  o      h^^  ^ 

wards  engaged  in  insurre.t<.n  or  rebemo^^^  ^  ^^..,j   ^^^,^j^. 


446  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

and  will   to  the  best  of  my  ability,  encourage  others  so  to  do  "so  heln 
Tegistln;  o^ef  ^^^^  ''  '^'^'^''^'^  ^^^  '^  ad.niniste?:dTytV^ 
Sec.  2.  And  be  if  further  enacted,  That  after  the  completion  of  the 
registration  hereby  provided  for  in  any  state,  at  such  time  and  nhces 
therein  as  the  command  ng  general  shall  appoint  and  direcrof  vhidi 
at   east  thirty  days  public  notice  shall  be  given,  an  election  sh a     be 
held  of  delegates  to  a  convention  for  the  purpose  of  establis  fnl  « 
constitution  and  civil  government  for  such  statue  oval  Sihe  Unfon 
said  convention  in  each  state,  except  Virginia,  to  Jonsis?  of  the  same 
number  of  members  as  the  most  numerous  branch  of    he  State  W- 
islature  ot  such  state  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  sixtv  to  be 
apportioned  among  the  several  districts,  counties  or  parishes  of  such 
state  by  the  commanding  general,  giving  to  each  representation  in 
the  ratio  of  voters  registered  as  afon^said^s   nearly  a?i'  y  be     The 
convention  in  Virginia  shall  consist  of  the  same  number  of  members 
as  represented   the  territory  now  constituting  Virginia  in  1 1  e  „S 
numerous  branch  of  the  Legislature  of  said  stiite  in  the  ZrXhteea 
hundred  and  sixty,  to  be  apportioned  as  aforesaid.  ^       eigliteea 

bEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  at  said  election  the  reo-istered 
voters  of  each  state  shall  vote  for  or  against  a  conve  tin  to%nrm  ^ 
constitution  therefjr  under  this  act:  Those  votig'nW  o?  s"ch 
a  convention  shall  have  written  or  printed  on  the?  ballo^by  vh"ch 
they  vote  for  delegate.,  as  aforesaid,  the  words  "  For  a  Conventi  n  - 
and  those  voting  against  such  a  convention  shall  have  wri  t^r 
printed  on  such  ballots  the  words  "Against  a  Convention  "The 
persons  appointed  to  superintend  said  election,  and  to  mak^ returns 

rltl  '7n  ^'""r  ^'^^•'^=»t,  '-^^  J^^'-ei"  provided,  ;hall  count  and  make 
return  of  the  vo  es  given  for  and  against  a  convention  •  and  he  com 
mandinggeneral  to  whom  the  same  shall  have  ber;e?u  ned  sSl" 
ascertain  and  declare  the  total  vote  in  each  state  for  and  "g  ins  a 
convention.  It  a  majority  of  the  votes  given  on  that  question  shaH 
be  for  a  conven-ion.  then  such  convention  shall  be  held  as  herein 
after  provided  ;  but  if  a  majority  of  said  votes  shall  be  aga  nst  a  c  n- 
vent ion  then  no  such  convention  shall  be  held  under  this  ac  •  I\o- 
vued,  Ihat  such  convention  shall  not  be  held  unless  a  maiorltv  of 

strctv^iii^r'  ^^"^'-^  ^'^'^  ^^^'^  '-'^'  -  ^^^  quittonTf-hordi.:^ 

.o^rv\  ^''^J^'^^Miher  enacted.  That  the  commanding  general  of 
each  district  shal  appoint  as  many  Boards  of  Recnstration  S  mav  be 
necessary  consisting  of  three  loyal  officers  or  person,  to  make  ^and 
complete  the  registration,  superintend  the  elect  on,  and  ma^e  return 

^ate^bv  a  nf 'T;  if  .f  ^"l""  ^"'  ^^"  ''''  ^^^^"^  elected  Ldle- 
gates  by  a  plurality  of  the  votes  cast  at  said  election  :  and  upon  re- 
ceiving said  returns,  he  shall  open  the  same,  ascertainte  persons 
elected  as  delegates,  according  to  the  returns  of  the  officer   who  con- 

foHtv  or;h/^'f '°^  ^'"^^  "^^^'^  proclamation  thereof?  andT    a  ma- 
jority of  the  votes  given  on  that  question  shall  be  for  a  convention 
the  commanding  general,  within  sixty  days  from  the  date  of  election; 


ArPENDlX  B.  447 


shall  notify  the  delegates  to  assemble  in  convention  at  a  time  and 
T)lace  to-be  mentioned  in  the  notification,  and  said  convention,  when 
organized  shall  proceed  to  frame  a  Constitution  and  civil  gnvern- 
S  according  to  the  provisions  of  this  act  and  the  act  to  which  it 
sTuppTementary  ;  and\vhen  the  same  shall  have  been  so  Iranicd. 
said  Constitution  shall  be  submitted  by  the  convention  for  r.t, hca- 
Zn  to  the  persons  registered  under  the  provisions  of  this  act  at  an 
e^ecdon  to  be  conducted  by  the  officers  or  persons  appointed  or  to  be 
aDSed  by  the  commanding  general,  as  hereinbefore  prov  ded 
and  to  be  held  after  the  expiration  of  thirty  days  from  the  date  of 

r.n^  tLrPof   to  be  given  by  said  convention  ;   and  the   returns 
U?    eof  strbe  made  tf  the  commanding  general  of  the  district 

Sec  5    i/if^.  it  further  enacted,  That  if,  according  to  said  returns, 
iheSnstifution  .hall  be  ratified  by  a  majority  of  the  vn  es  ot  the 

session,  ^^d  if  not  hi  ^^^^;^";  ^^^^^^      to  Congress  that  the  election 
bung;  andif  itshal,moreove^^^  n^^^  ^^  opportunity  to 

was  one  at  which  all  the  electors  "^  ^J^^j  influence  of  fraud,  and 

vote  freely  and  ^-;|^^«^\^J^^^f,r\^X,t  ,uch  Constitution  meets  the 
^''^^^.nfTLt^i^Voft    tt%tl>fie^  in  the  state,  and 

approval  ot  a  rnajomy  oi  *  •■  ,i  ,  ■  t„  Congress  to  be  in  fon- 
if  'the  3akl  Constitution  ^l^^l' ''^^'^^'l''' 'f^.fjeh  this  issupplemenUry, 
formity  with  the  proy'^'ons  of  the  act  to  «  mcu  i»  =>  complied  with, 
and  the  other  provisions  of  sa  d  ^f  ^^^„7„  "^"b^'c.mgre,  ,  the  stule 
T^'tti^^^d  enUt:d\f  rt-enSi:;!tm/sena^.rs  and  Repre- 
:  ,     tWef stlTtradmitted  tl-refrom^s^l-e,,,  p.^^^^^^^  ^^^^^ 

SEC,  6.  An.l  ''^Jl /"Itfto  pm  Ulf  ^   l^e  Zt  ethcient  .overn- 

mentioned  in  tlie  said     *f' *^' ^'^, ,'',  „  ,u^  operation  of  said  act,  be 

mentofthe  rebel  ^j*^'''*-    "'\*  y;  ""|^^^^  and 

bv  ballot,  and  all  oihcers  »  '^'^  "^±„'entcr7.?K  .»"  the  discharge  of 
conducting  said  elections  shall,  before  entemg^^l^^  ,^^^       , 

their  duties,  take  and  .^«l;'^<="'',f,,  'L°f ',^r,Txu'  two,  entitled,  "  An 

proved  July  .f«°"'^'7f,'f'':S3ce  ""-'«',  That  if  any  person  shall 
act  to  prescribe  an  oath  ot  o"*^^-  „/  „^ii,„  ',„  oath  in  this  act  pre- 
knowingly  and  falsely  take  ^"'^/"^'.'7oin^  hereof  dulv  convicted, 
scribed,  such  person  so  oiT«''d'n.?.J'"d  l^^d  7l  sabilitie.  which  by  law 
t^'^.^Kr^e^TnlMt  0  "tUe^crinie  of  willful  and  corrupt 

^'^7.  A.4  U  Ufartyr  ™-'f  That  all  e>^P-- •---;,!;>•,'!- 
several  commanding  generals  o    by  virtue  m       .^  ^^^.^  ,et,  shall  be 
appointments  made  by  »  >«'";""^^, ,7^  7ot  Otherwise  appropriate,!. 
^ltn."!l«76':";>'"-  -"'Titat  the  convention  for  each 


448  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

state  shall  prescribe  the  fee?,  salaries  and  compensation  to  be  paid  to 
all  delegates  and  other  officers  and  agents  herein  authorized,  or  neces- 
sary to  carry  into  effect  the  purposes  of  this  act  not  herein  otherwise 
provided  for,  and  shall  provide  for  the  levy  and  collection  of  such 
taxes  on  the  property  in  such  state  as  may  be  necessary  to  pay  the 
same. 

Sec.  9.  And  be  U  further  enacted,  That  the  word  "  article,''  in  the 
sixth  section  of  the  act  to  which  this  is  supplementary,  shall  be  con- 
strued to  mean  "  section." 


APPENDIX  C. 


ANNOUNCING    THAT    THE    REBELLION    HAS    ENDED, 
APRIL    2d,  1866. 

Whereas  by  proclamations  of  the  fifteenth  and  nineteenth  of  April 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-one,  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  in  virtue  of  the  power  vested  in  hira  by  the  Constitu- 
tion and  the  laws,  declared  that  the  laws  of  the  United  States  were 
opposed,  and  the  execution  thereof  obstructed  in  the  states  of  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Florida,  Mississippi,  Louisiana  and 
Texas,  by  combinations  too  powerful  to  be  suppressed  by  the  ordinary 
course  of  judicial  proceeding,  or  by  the  powers  vested  in  the  marshals 
by  law ; 

And  whereas  by  another  proclamation  made  on  the  sixteenth  day 
of  August,  in  the  same  year,  in  pursuance  of  an  act  of  Congress 
approved  July  thirteenth,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-one, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  states  of  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  Louisiana,  Texas,  Arkansas, 
Mississippi  and  Florida,  (except  the  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  the 
state  of  Virginia  lying  west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  and  to  such 
other  parts  of  that  state  and  the  other  states  before  named  as  might 
maintain  a  loyal  adhesion  to  the  Union  and  the  Constitution,  or 
might  be  from  time  to  time  occupied  and  controlled  by  forces  of  the 
United  States  engaged  in  the  dispersion  of  insurgents)  were  declared 
to  be  in  a  state  of  insurrection  against  the  United  States  ; 

And  whereas  by  another  proclamation  of  the  first  day  of  July,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-two,  issued  in  pursuance  of  an  act 
of  Congress,  approved  July  seventh,  in  the  same  year,  the  insurrection 
was  declared  to  be  still  existing  in  the  states  aforesaid,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  certain  specified  counties  in  the  state  of  Virginia; 

And  whereas  by  another  proclamation  made  on  the  second  day  of 
April,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-three,  in  pursuance  of 
the  act  of  Congress  of  July  thirteenth,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  sixty-one,  the  exceptions  named  in  the  proclamation  of  August 
sixteenth,  one  thousand  eiglit  hundred  and  sixty-one,  were  revoked, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  states  of  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  North 
Carolina,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  Louisiana,  Texas,  Arkansas,  Missis- 
sippi, Florida  and  Virginia,  (except  the  forty-eight  counties  of  Vir- 
29  449 


450  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

ginia  designated  as  West  Virginia,  and  the  ports  of  New  Orleans, 
Key  West,  Port  Eoyal,  and  Beaufort,  in  South  Carolina)  were  declar- 
ed to  be  still  in  a  state  of  insurrection  against  the  United  States. 

And  whereas  the  House  of  Representatives,  on  the  twenty-second 
day  of  July,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-one,  adopted  a 
resolution  in  the  words  following,  namely ; 

^'Resolved  by  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  That  the  present  deplorable  civil  war  has  been  forced 
upon  the  country  by  the  disunionists  of  the  Southern  States,  now  in 
revolt  against  the  constitutional  government,  and  in  arms  around  the 
Capital ;  that  in  this  national  emergency  Congress,  banishing  all  feel- 
ings of  passion  or  resentment,  will  recollect  only  its  duty  to  the  whole 
country ;  that  this  war  is  not  waged  on  our  part  in  any  spirit  of  op- 
pression, nor  for  any  purpose  of  conquest  or  subjugation,  nor  purpose 
of"  overthrowing  or  interfering  with  the  rights  or  established  institu- 
tions of  those  states ;  but,  to  defend  and  maintain  the  supremacy  of 
the  Constitution  and  to  preserve  the  Union,  with  all  the  digrlity, 
equality  and  rights  of  the  several  states  unimpaired  ;  that  as  soon  as 
these  objects  are  accomplished  the  war  ought  to  cease." 

And  whereas  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  on  the  twenty-fifth 
day  of  July,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-one,  adopted  a 
resolution  in  the  words  following,  to  wit: 

^^  Resolved,  That  the  present  deplorable  civil  war  has  been  forced 
upon  the  country  by  the  disunionists  of  the  Southern  states,  now  in 
revolt  against  the  constitutional  government,  and  in  arms  around  the 
Capital ;  that  in  this  national  emergency,  Congress,  banishing  all 
feeling  of  mere  passion  or  resentment  will  recollect  only  its  duty  to 
the  whole  country  ;  that  this  war  is  not  prosecuted  on  our  part  in  any 
spirit  of  oppression  nor  for  any  purpose  of  conquest  or  subjugation, 
nor  purpose  of  overthrowing  or  interfering  with  the  rights  or  estab- 
lished institutions  of  those  states,  but  to  defend  and  maintain  the 
supremacy  of  the  Constitution  and  all  laws  made  in  pursuance  there- 
of, and  to  preserve  the  Union  with  all  the  dignity,  equality  and  rights 
of  the  several  states  unimpaired;  that  as  soon  as  these  objects  are 
accomplished,  the  war  ought  to  cease." 

And  whereas  these  resolutions  though  not  joint  or  concurrent  in 
form,  are  substantially  identical,  and  as  such  may  be  regarded  as 
having  expressed  the  sense  of  Congress  upon  the  subject  to  which 
they  relate ; 

And  whereas  by  my  proclamation  of  the  thirteenth  day  of  June 
last,  the  insurrection  in  the  state  of  Tennessee  was  declared  to  have 
been  suppressed,  the  authority  of  the  United  States  therein  to  be  un- 
disputed and  such  United  States  officers  as  had  been  duly  commis- 
sioned to  be  in  the  undisputed  exercise  of  their  official  functions  ; 

And  whereas  there  now  exists  no  organized  armed  resistance  of 
misguided  citizens  or  others  to  the  United  States  in  the  states  of 
Georgia,  South  Carolina,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Ala- 
bama, Louisiana,  Arkansas,  Mississippi  and  Florida,  and  the  laws 
can  be  sustained  and  enforced  therein  by  the  proper  civil  authority. 


APPENDIX  C.  4,-31 

state  or  Federal,  and  the  people  of  the  said  states  are  well  and  loyally 
disposed,  and  have  conformed  or  will  conform  in  their  legislation  to 
the  condition  of  affairs  growino:  out  of  the  amendment  to  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States  prohibiting  slavery  within  the  limits  and 
jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  ; 

And  whereas  in  view  of  the  before  recited  premises,  it  is  the  mani- 
fest determination  of  the  American  people  that  no  state  of  its  own 
will,  has  the  right  or  the  power  to  go  out  of,  or  separate  itself  from, 
or  be  separated  from  the  American  Union,  and  that,  therefore,  each 
state  ought  to  remain  and  constitute  an  integral  part  of  the  United 
States; 

And  whereas  the  people  of  the  several  before  mentioned  states,  have 
in  the  manner  aforesaid,  given  satisfactory  evidence  that  they  acquiesce 
in  this  sovereign  and  important  resolution  of  national  unity  : 

And  whereas  it  is  believed  to  be  a  fundamental  principle  of  gov- 
ernment that  people  who  have  revolted,  and  who  have  been  overcome 
and  subdued,  must  either  be  dealt  with  so  as  to  induce  them  volun- 
tarily to  become  friends  or  else  they  must  be  held  by  the  absolute 
military  power,  or  devastated,  so  as  to  prevent  them  from  ever  again 
doing  harm  as  enemies  which  last  named  policy  is  abhorrent  to 
humanity  and  freedom ; 

And  whereas  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  provides  for 
constituent  committees  only  as  states  and  not  as  territories,  dependen- 
cies, provinces,  or  protectorates ; 

And  whereas  such  constituent  States  must  necessarily  be  and  by 
the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States  are  made  equals  and 
placed  upon  a  like  footing  as  to  political  rights,  immunities,  dignity, 
and  power,  with  the  several  states  with  which  they  are  united ; 

And  whereas  the  observance  of  political  equality  as  a  principle  of 
right  and  justice  is  well  calculated  to  encourage  the  people  of  the 
aforesaid  states  to  be  and  become  more  and  more  constant  and  perse- 
vering in  their  renewed  allegiance  ; 

And  whereas  standing  armies,  military  occupation,  martial  law, 
military  tribunals,  and  the  suspension  of  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus  are,  in  time  of  peace,  dangerous  to  public  liberty, 
incompatible  with  the  individual  rights  of  the  citizen,  contrary  to 
the  genius  and  spirit  of  our  free  institutions,  and  exhaustive  of  the 
national  resources,  and  ought  not  therefore,  to  be  sanctioned  or 
allowed,  except  in  cases  of  actual  necessity  for  repelling  invasion  or 
suppressing  insurrection  or  rebellion  ; 

And  whereas  the  policy  of  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
from  the  beginning  of  the  insurrection  to  its  overflow  and  final  sup- 
pression, has  been  in  conformity  with  the  principles  herein  set  forth 
and  enumerated : 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Andrew  Johnson,  President  of  the  United  States, 
do  hereby  proclaim  and  declare  that  the  insurrection  which  hereto- 
fore existed  in  the  states  of  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  Mississippi,  and 
Florida,  is  at  an  end,  and  is  henceforth  to  be  so  regarded. 


452  WHY  THE  SOLID  SOUTH? 

In  testimony  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and  caused  the 
seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  the  second  day  of 
April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-six,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the 
United  States  of  America  the  ninetieth. 

Andrew  Johnson. 
By  the  President, 

Wm.  H.  Seward*  Secretary  of  State. 


A  $3.00  Book,  Beautifully  Illustrated,  for  $2.25.     A  Work 
Desired  In  every  Southern  Home. 


LIFE  AND  REMINISCENCES 


OF 


JEFFERSON   DAVIS. 

BY  DISTINGUISHED  MEN  OF  HIS  TIME. 
Introductory  by  Hon.  JOHN  W.  DAMEl,  I'.  S.  Senator  from  Virginia. 


A  number  of  distinguished  soldiers  and  statesmen,  who  were  inti- 
mate with  Mr.  Davis,  have  furnished  articles  specially  for  this  book, 
among  whom  are  Senator  Keagan,  of  Texas,  member  of  Mr.  Davis* 
Cabinet ;  U.  S.  Senator  Vest,  of  Missouri ;  Col.  AV.  C.  P.  Breckin- 
ridge, Member  of  Congress  from  Kentucky;  Ex-Attorney-General 
Garland,  of  Arkansas ;  Hon.  J.  L.  M.  Curry,  Ex-Minister  to  Spain ; 
Gov.  F.  K.  Lubbock,  of  Texas;  Gen'l  Geo.  W.  Jones,  of  Iowa, 
Ex-U.  S.  Senator;  Hon.  Keuben  Davis,  of  Mississippi,  who  was  with 
Mr.  Davis  in  the  Mexican  War;  Kev.  Chas.  Minnegerode,  D.  D., 
Mr.  Davis'  pastor  during  the  war;  Hon.  J.  Eandolph  TuCker,  Vir- 
ginia; Ex-Postmaster  General  Jas.  Campbell,  who  was  with  Mr. 
Davis  in  the  Cabinet  of  President  Pierce;  Gen'l  A.  R.  Lawton, 
Georgia,  Ex-Minister  to  Eussia;  Hon.  H.  A.  Herbert,  Member  of 
Congress  from  Alabama;  Gen.  Joseph  Wheeler,  Alabama,  Member 
of  Congress;  Hon.  S.  Teackle  Wallis,  Maryland;  Major  Thomas 
Hall,  and  other  prominent  and  distinguished  men. 

The  book  is  issued  in  the  highest  artistic  style.    It  contains 
some  of  Mr.  Davis'  most  choice  letters,  speeches,  proclamations,  etc., 
making  546  pages.     It  is  beautifully  illustrated  with  numerous  engrav- 
ings and  a  steel  portrait  of  Mr.  Davis. 
It  is  farnislied  to  subscribers  in  elegant  and  durable  binding  at  the  following  prices : 

Fine  Edition,  Cioth, *--2i 

Fine  English  Clotli,  side  and  baclt  goid  stamp,  gilt  top,  untrlmmed  edKes,    i.io 

Sheep,  sprinkled  edges, ^••'* 

Turkey  Morocco,  gold  edges  (Presentation  Edition), ♦•00 

AGEXTS  WANTED  EVEKYTN'IIEKE. 


Address.  R   ^  WOODWARD  &  COMPANY,  Baltimore,  Md. 


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